The Potions Master's Bane
by Teddylonglong
Summary: Harry is suffering from a magical muscle disease, however, does his best to get along in his first Hogwarts year. If only the Potions Master did not hate him so much! When Harry's attempt to change the Potions Master's opinion fails, he travels to the time of the founders to live in peace and study his favourite subject. COMPLETELY AU, partly OOC, death!Voldemort, sick!Harry
1. Chapter 1

**The Potions Master's Bane**  
**by Healer Pomfrey**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

**_Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, time travel, sick!Harry. I am only writing for fun and how I want it.  
_****_IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT, DON'T COMPLAIN BUT STAY AWAY FROM MY STORIES!_**

* * *

Unbeknownst to Hagrid, the small shopping trip to Diagon Alley was like a marathon for Harry.

Years of malnourishment and maltreatment by his relatives had made the boy fall ill with a very rare and so-far incurable magical muscle disease. Whenever he overexerted himself, which happened easily, as everything beyond a ten-minute walk or ten minutes of garden work was too much for his fragile system, he became very sore if not worse.

When it happened first, his primary school teacher had made a huge fuss over him, noticing that he was out of breath and running a temperature every morning when he arrived at school. Harry had been extremely annoyed by the fuss, but a few days later, it had stopped and never occurred again.

HP

When Hagrid left Harry at King's Cross, Harry felt outright sore and ill from walking through the town all day. _'I'm not going to return to the Dursleys','_ he decided. He slowly dragged himself back to Diagon Alley, taking many breaks on the way. When he finally reached the Leaky Cauldron, he rented a small room, inwardly thanking his parents for leaving him enough money to do such a stunt.

Harry spent the next four weeks recovering and resting, feeling very grateful that a house-elf brought meals up to his room three times a day. Only after two weeks, when he had finished reading all of his first year books, he occasionally went out for a small walk into Diagon Alley, mostly in the early morning, when the magical shopping street was still empty and quiet.

Fortunately, Flourish and Blotts was in walking distance for Harry, and he always ended up in the bookshop reading books from the various subjects that were taught at Hogwarts. From his first year books, he already knew that he found Potions and Herbology the most interesting subjects and bought the second year Herbology book along with the complete series of Potions books.

_'This should be enough to occupy me for the remaining two weeks of holidays,' _he thought, happily, when he went to pay for the pile of books, collecting a copy of _'Hogwarts: A History'_ that caught his eye on the way.

HP

On the first of September, he left the Leaky Cauldron very early in the morning, knowing that he had to take several longer breaks on the way to the station - after reserving the room again for the following summer.

Nevertheless, he felt groggy, when he finally boarded the train and happily let himself sink into an empty compartment.

After a few minutes, a girl with bushy brown hair joined him. She introduced herself as Hermione Granger and immediately began to question him with apparent interest. She was amazed upon hearing that he was Harry Potter, delighted when he told her that he had also finished all of their first year books as well as '_Hogwarts: A History'_ and stunned when he admitted having read through all seven Potions books.

"You're surely going to be sorted into Ravenclaw," she said, seemingly contented. "Me too, although I'd prefer Gryffindor." With that she turned to the other boy, who so far had only be sitting there, staring at them, wide-eyed.

"I'm probably going to be sorted into Hufflepuff," the boy replied, shyly. "I'm Neville by the way, Neville Longbottom."

The three first years spent the train ride talking animatedly, and by the time they reached Hogsmeade, Harry had the impression as if he had already gained two friends.

Together with a blonde boy, who introduced himself as Draco Malfoy, they boarded a boat and thoroughly enjoyed their first sight of Hogwarts.

_'It looks amazing,'_ Harry thought, _'but it's so big. How will I be able to get around the school?'_ he wondered, slightly frightened at the thought of having to hurry from one end to the other between classes. In spite of his worries, he felt very happy to finally arrive at the school, about which he had read so much during the last two weeks.

With excitement, he followed the other first years, when Professor McGonagall lead them into the Great Hall. _'Oh, this is even more brilliant than I imagined it,'_ he thought, admiring the charmed ceiling in amazement.

HP

However, his excitement soon changed into a combination of disappointment and outright horror, when the Sorting Hat - after a small dispute with Harry - shouted into the hall.

'Hmm, this is difficult,' Harry heard a small voice speak right into his mind. 'What am I going to do with you?'

'Together with Hermione and Neville please,' Harry thought, feverishly.

'Hmm, no I think you'd do better in Slytherin or Ravenclaw, but considering what you're hiding, it'll better be...' With that, the small voice in Harry's mind stopped, and he heard the Hat shout into the hall, "Hospital wing."

Terrified, Harry almost tore the Hat off his head and handed it back to Professor McGonagall, giving the teacher a shocked look.

"Don't worry, Mr. Potter," the Gryffindor head said in a soothing voice. "Just sit down at one of the house tables, and come to see me right after the feast."

HP

Before Harry could do as much as wonder where to sit, Hermione called him over to the Gryffindor table. "Here, Harry."

Harry gratefully slipped into the seat next to the girl, opposite of two identical looking boys with red hair and contagious smiles on their faces.

"What was that..."

"... for a Sorting?" they queried, staring at him in apparent expectation.

"Why did the Hat..."

"... sort you into the hospital wing?"

"I've no idea," Harry replied, horrified. _'I wished I could just stay here, but maybe Uncle Vernon was right. I'm just a freak,'_ he thought, as he absentmindedly followed the other students' conversations.

HP

After the feast, Harry hesitantly stepped over to the high table. When he came to stand next to Professor McGonagall, the headmaster, a very old wizard with a long, white beard, addressed the boy in a gentle voice.

"Hello my boy, how nice of you to join us on this fine evening. Please follow me to my office for a moment." Turning to his colleagues, he added, "Poppy and the four heads of the houses, if you could please join us."

"I have a house meeting to hold," a teacher, who was completely dressed in black, spoke up, looking at Harry in clear disdain, before he left the Great Hall upon seeing the headmaster nod.

Harry slowly trailed behind the other teachers to the headmaster's office, hoping that it wouldn't be too far for him to walk.

HP

Dumbledore introduced his phoenix Fawkes to Harry, before he lowered himself into the chair behind his table and invited everyone to take a seat.

"Harry," the headmaster began to speak in a gentle, grandfatherly voice, thoughtfully stroking his beard. "These are Professors McGonagall, Sprout and Flitwick and Madam Pomfrey, our healer. If I understood correctly, Sopho, our Sorting Hat, has sorted you into the hospital wing. Is that so?"

"Yes sir," Harry replied in a barely audible voice, squirming in his seat.

"Do you have any explanation as to why this might have happened?" Dumbledore queried. "Hmm?"

"No sir," Harry replied, unsurely. _'Maybe it's because I can't walk far, but is that a reason to put me into the hospital wing?'_ he wondered, incredulously.

"Well, then let me ask Sopho what he was thinking," Dumbledore said, pleasantly, as he rose from his chair and stepped over to the shelf, where the Hat was resting.

"Harry, don't worry. Everything will be all right," the teacher, whom the headmaster had introduced as Professor Sprout, said in a soothing voice.

Finally, Dumbledore returned to his seat. "Sopho told me that he would have sorted Harry into Slytherin or Ravenclaw, however, he believes that it would be better for him to stay in Poppy's domain." Glancing from one of his colleagues to the next, he added, "I suggest that Severus should become his head of house and he should attend classes together with the Slytherins even if staying with Poppy."

_'Oh no, Severus must be the professor who glared at me earlier,'_ Harry thought, uncomfortably. He looked up, horrified, when the headmaster asked the healer to check on him in order to find out the reason for the Hat's decision.

He gave the deputy headmistress a grateful look, when she contradicted in a firm voice. "Albus, don't you think it would be better if Poppy took Harry with him and spoke with him in private? It must be uncomfortable for Harry to discuss the matter here in front of all of us."

"Yes, I believe that would be the best," Pomfrey agreed and rose from her chair, motioning Harry to follow her. "Albus, please inform Severus that he's Harry's head of house, and that Harry is staying with me for the time being," she told the headmaster, before she left the office with Harry in tow.

_tbc...(if there is interest, otherwise only on FB)_

_Thanks a lot to my Facebook friends for their feedback and their help finding a title..._


	2. Chapter 2

**The Potions Master's Bane**  
**by Healer Pomfrey**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

**_Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, time travel, sick!Harry. I am only writing for fun and how I want it.  
_**

**_IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT, DON'T COMPLAIN BUT STAY AWAY FROM MY STORIES!_**

* * *

Harry slowly trailed behind the healer, wondering what he was supposed to tell the friendly witch and what she would be able to find out when she checked on him however that worked.

"Harry, don't worry," Pomfrey said in a soft voice. "We'll see if it's really necessary for you to stay in the hospital wing, and if so, I'll assign you one of the small teacher's rooms. You'll just have your own room, which has the advantage that you can invite friends from all houses to your room," she added, smiling.

"All right," Harry replied in a small voice and hesitantly followed the witch into the hospital wing. It was a large room filled with beds on both sides, each of them equipped with crispy white sheets, and the smell of disinfection material penetrated his nose, making him even more anxious.

However, Pomfrey merely led the boy though the large room into her office and made him sit on the sofa. "Harry," she spoke up, colloquially, "where did your aunt take you when you were ill? To a Muggle doctor or to a healer?"

Harry squirmed in his seat. "They never took me anywhere," he admitted in a small voice. "Everything somehow went away by itself."

Pomfrey shot him a horrified look. "Harry," she then said, thoughtfully, "Is there anything that is bothering you, which might perhaps be the reason for your Sorting?"

Looking at the healer in hesitation, Harry admitted, "I can't walk very long, otherwise everything hurts."

"Where exactly does it hurt?" Pomfrey enquired in apparent concern. "Your legs?"

"Everywhere," Harry replied in a barely audible voice, unable to suppress a yawn.

"Very well Harry, I believe that it's time for you to go to bed," Pomfrey said, resolutely. "Come with me." She led the boy into one of the small rooms behind her office and with a flick of her wand dressed him into soft pyjamas, before she instructed him to lie down and sleep.

"Harry, while you're asleep, I'm going to cast a few diagnostic spells at you to find out what is wrong and how I perhaps might be able to help you. All right dear?"

"All right," Harry replied, feeling very much comforted by the healer's kindness. He barely noticed that she gently tucked him in, before he already drifted off to sleep.

HP

Poppy eyed the boy, who was much too small for his age, in concern. She knew that the first years usually were tired after the feast, however, she had the impression as if Harry seemed more tired than he should be. After observing him sleep for a few more seconds, she turned into healer's mode and cast a thorough diagnostic spell, causing a long parchment to emerge from the tip of her wand.

She studied the parchment with growing horror, before she hurried into her office and leaned into the fireplace. "Albus, Minerva, please come to my office for a moment."

An instant later, her colleagues and best friends stepped out of the fireplace, concern written in their faces.

"Harry is suffering from the O'Leary disease," she informed them.

While the headmaster paled visibly, Minerva enquired, "And what exactly is the O'Leary disease?"

Poppy let out a long sigh. "It's a very rare magical muscle disease, which causes all muscles to become infected by overexertion. He must be careful to not physically overexert himself, otherwise it will get worse and he will suffer from overall pain and possibly fevers or other symptoms. He won't be able to attend strenuous classes like Defence Against the Dark Arts, for example."

Her friend stared at her, clearly in shock. "How could he get such an illness?" she enquired, incredulously.

"Probably due to neglect, maybe even abuse by his relatives," Poppy replied, trying to remain as calm as possible. She knew that Minerva loved the boy as if he was her grandson. She always had. Nevertheless, she had to tell them more about her findings. "His body is covered by bruises and welts, and he has several bones, which have been broken before and did not heal properly. He's also running a fever and is suffering from moderate pain."

"Harry looked healthy to me though," the headmaster threw in.

"Concealment charms I suppose," Poppy replied in a grave voice. "Abused children tend to using concealment charms, consciously or unconsciously."

"Does he need to stay here?" Minerva asked, looking at the child in apparent concern.

"Yes Minerva," Poppy informed her in a firm voice. "I need to check on him at least every evening. If he overexerts himself on a regular basis, his illness will worsen so much that he might not be able to walk at all anymore. Here, I can better keep an eye on him than if he stayed in a dormitory."

"Will he still be able to walk from one classroom to the next?" Albus queried, absentmindedly popping a lemon drop into his mouth.

Poppy sighed. "I'm not sure how progressed his illness already is. I'll speak with him in the morning. Harry will surely know how far he'll be able to walk. In the worst case, he'll have to use the internal Floo."

"Yes," the headmaster agreed, nodding, before he pointed his wand at the boy, trying to cancel any possible concealment charms that the boy might have inflicted on himself.

Poppy and Minerva let out a gasp. The boy's face was as white as the sheets on his bed, while his cheeks were feverishly flushed, and his hair was sticking to his forehead in sweat.

The three friends discussed the condition of their smallest first year for another hour, while they busied themselves changing the small hospital room into a comfortable, bright student's room with appropriate furniture and a large, magical window. Finally, the headmaster left, promising to inform Professor Snape about Harry's condition.

"Please ask him to fetch Harry for breakfast in the morning," Poppy instructed him.

"I will," the headmaster said, pleasantly.

HP

When Harry woke up in the morning, unaware that Poppy had spent several hours mending his old injuries, he felt better than he could remember having felt ever before. He curiously let his eyes wander around his new room, feeling absolutely amazed at what he saw. _'This is just beautiful,'_ he thought, as he observed the Giant Squid play in the early morning sun.

"Do you like it?" a soft voice brought him back to reality.

"It's amazing," Harry replied in awe. "So far, I've lived in the cupboard under the stairs," he admitted to the healer, "and now all of a sudden, I'm allowed to stay in such a beautiful room. Thank you so very much."

"You're welcome," the healer replied, smiling, before she told him about her findings and explained why it was necessary for him to stay in her domain instead of a dormitory, ending with the firm instruction to come back to his room earlier if he did not feel well.

Suddenly, she glanced at her wrist watch. "It's time to head to the Great Hall for breakfast, Harry," she informed him and accompanied him to the Great Hall, where she introduced him to the Slytherins and instructed him to sit at the Slytherin table.

"Here Harry," the blonde boy, who had been on the boat together with him on the previous day, called him, and he and the boy next to him made space for him to sit between them.

"So you belong to us, you're just not allowed to stay in our dormitory?" the other boy, who introduced himself as Blaise Zabini, asked, curiously.

"Yes," Harry replied, inwardly groaning, and admitted, "I have some problem with my muscles and can't walk very far. So it's better for me to stay in my own room, which is fairly near to everywhere else." He knew that it was not really the truth, but no one had to know that.

HP

The first years' first morning class was Transfiguration, and Harry felt already exhausted and sore by the time he reached the classroom. He let himself sink into the chair next to Blaise and exchanged a few words with Hermione, who was sitting just on the other side of the aisle.

"Harry, is everything all right?" the girl queried in apparent concern. "Do you really have to stay in the hospital wing?"

"Yes, but Professor Dumbledore decided that I belong to Slytherin. I have my own room, where we can meet and study all together," Harry whispered back.

"Oh that's good," Hermione replied, eagerly. "Shall we do that after the last afternoon class?"

Harry could only nod, since the tabby cat that had been sitting on the teacher's table chose that instant to transform into Professor McGonagall, causing him to stare at the teacher in amazement.

HP

Since Harry had already tried out and practised all the spells of his first year book during his stay at Diagon Alley, the task of the first class was easy for him, and he managed to earn five points for Slytherin. By the time he left the classroom, he was smiling happily, thinking, _'I'm going to learn how to change into an animal, maybe one that'll be able to easily get around this huge castle.'_

Suddenly, he noticed that Hermione, Neville, Blaise and Draco were waiting for him in front of the classroom. He had been so wrapped up in his happy thoughts that he had completely forgotten to hurriedly leave in order to be half-way punctual for his next class.

"Please go ahead or you'll be all late because of me," he instructed the others. "I can't walk fast enough to be in the dungeons in fifteen minutes."

"But the teachers know about it. It's all right, we'll go all together," Hermione replied in a firm voice.

"You better go ahead," Draco threw in. "Snape won't take points from Slytherin, but he'll take from Gryffindor."

"Go," Harry told his friends, causing Hermione and Neville to hurry behind their classmates.

In a slower speed, Harry, Blaise and Draco followed the others, animatedly talking. _'Thank Merlin the teachers know about my problem,'_ Harry thought, recalling that Madam Pomfrey had reassured him that the headmaster had informed their colleagues that he might show up in his classes up to fifteen minutes late.

HP

Nevertheless, when they entered the Potions classroom, the teacher glared at the three of them and said in an icy voice, "Malfoy, Zabini and Potter, 10 minutes late. 10 points each from your houses."

"But Professor," Draco protested immediately. "Potter can't walk as fast, and we accompanied him because he didn't know where the Potions classroom was, as he missed our house meeting last night."

However, Snape could not be convinced. "Want to lose more points from Slytherin?" he hissed at the blonde boy, who shook his head and pulled Harry and Blaise with him to the empty seats in the first row.

_'What an unfriendly professor,'_ Harry thought, feeling very sad that his friends had lost points because of him.

_tbc..._

_Thank you for your kind comments for the first chapter!_


	3. Chapter 3

**The Potions Master's Bane**  
**by Healer Pomfrey**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

**_Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, time travel, sick!Harry. I am only writing for fun and how I want it.  
_**

**_IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT, DON'T COMPLAIN BUT STAY AWAY FROM MY STORIES!_**

* * *

"Mr. Potter, our new celebrity," Professor Snape suddenly spoke up, looking at Harry in clear disdain.

Harry stared back with bewilderment, when the teacher asked, "Potter, what would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

"A sleeping potion, also known as the Draught of Living Death, sir," Harry replied, causing his classmates stare at him in clear amazement.

However, the professor was not pleased and continued asking questions, seemingly unhappy when Harry managed to correctly answer all of them, including those that were clearly seventh year material.

Harry inwardly sighed in relief, when the professor finally gave up and made a recipe appear on the board with a flick of his wand.

_'Finally, I'm going to get to brew my first potion,'_ he thought, happily, and eagerly went to get his ingredients. He did not notice that the professor watched his every move ready to ridicule the boy for his non-existent brewing abilities. However, in spite of the teacher's expectations, he managed to brew a flawless potion - in contrary to Neville, who even with Hermione's assistance happened to make the liquid in his cauldron explode.

"Snape was really in a bad mood," Draco spoke up on the way back to the entrance hall. "He's said to never take points off Slytherin."

"And he didn't even gave Harry any point, when he answered all questions correctly," Hermione agreed, giving Harry a compassionate look.

"He seems to dislike me for some reason," Harry said in a small voice. "It's a bit sad, because I'm really interested in potions."

"Next is Defence Against the Dark Arts," Hermione suddenly said. "Does any of you know where the classroom is?"

"Please follow the others and go ahead. I'm not allowed to attend Defence anyway," Harry replied, inwardly groaning.

"All right Harry, we'll see you at lunch then," Blaise threw in, and Harry's four friends hurried behind their classmates, who were accompanied by one of the Slytherin prefects.

_'I'll just go back to my room,'_ Harry thought. _'Maybe I can help Madam Pomfrey with something. She's really nice in contrary to Snape.'_ He slowly returned to the hospital wing, smiling, when Pomfrey immediately came out of her office upon hearing the door open.

"Hello Harry," she said, kindly. "Do you have a free period now?"

"Yes, it's Defence Against the Dark Arts now," Harry replied, before he blurted out, "Do you know why Professor Snape hates me so much, and is there anything that I can do about it?"

The healer motioned him to follow her into her office, before she explained, patiently, "Professor Snape was in the same Hogwarts year as your parents. While your mother was his best friend, your father was his childhood enemy. Unfortunately, you resemble your father a lot, even if only from your outer appearance. I believe that there's nothing that you can do about it," she added, pensively, "except for being on your best behaviour and show him that you're interested in Potions."

"I'm very interested," Harry replied, eagerly. "Potions is my favourite subject. I've read all seven Potions books already. If I hadn't, I wouldn't have been able to answer his questions. I can't wait to be able to brew more difficult potions, but if he hates me so much, I won't be able to ask him if I may use the Potions classroom outside of class," he added in disappointment, more to himself than to the healer.

"Madam, is there anything I could do to help you during my free period?" he then asked in a soft voice.

Pomfrey cast him a thoughtful look. "If you really wish to help, you could prepare a few ingredients for me. Professor Snape is so busy that I always have to brew some potions myself, and I could very well use an assistant."

Harry happily busied himself preparing the ingredients for the recipe that Pomfrey laid out for him in the small potions lab behind her office. From time to time, he looked at her questioningly, making sure that he was preparing the ingredients in the correct way, and Pomfrey gently taught him how to properly prepare this and that, while she brewed the potion.

They just finished the potion when the last morning class was over, and Pomfrey profusely thanked the boy, awarded twenty points to Slytherin and instructed him to attend lunch in the Great Hall.

"Thank you very much for allowing me to assist," Harry replied, gratefully.

"I have an idea," Pomfrey said, thoughtfully. "I need to speak with Professors Dumbledore and Snape first though."

HP

After the last afternoon class, Hermione, Neville, Draco and Blaise visited Harry in his room, and Pomfrey gently added a few more chairs to the round table, so that Harry and his friends could do their homework together. After dinner, the five students returned to Harry's room, and it soon became a habit for them to study in the cosy little room with the beautiful view over the grounds.

When his friends had returned to their houses after curfew on the first evening, Pomfrey added an additional door to his room that led out into the corridor next to the hospital wing. "This way, you and your friends don't have to go through the hospital wing every time to come here," she explained, patiently, before she added a painting of what seemed to be a healer to the door.

"This lady is Ceridwen Hufflepuff, the younger sister of Helga Hufflepuff, one of the founders of Hogwarts. Like Helga, Ceridwen is a healer as well," she informed him. "Please agree on a password with Ceridwen."

Harry spent a few minutes speaking with Ceridwen, before he went to bed, thinking,

_'Thank Merlin that I'm living in my own room, otherwise it would be difficult to remain friends with Hermione and Neville.'_

Harry enjoyed all of his classes very much and loved being at Hogwarts. None of the other teachers did as much as mention it when he entered the classroom five or even ten minutes late. Only the Potions Master glared at him as much as possible and took points from his own house at every occasion.

Harry swore to himself that he would never again be late for Snape's class. On the second day of classes, he skipped lunch in order to be at the Potions classroom on time, and on the following day, he walked together with his classmates, feeling all over sore and feverish by the time they reached the dungeons. However, to his relief, no one seemed to notice his predicament, apart from Pomfrey, who was very upset when she checked on him in the evening as usual.

"Harry, please do not cast concealment charms on yourself," she told him in a firm voice.

"Excuse me, Madam, cast what?" Harry queried in shock, causing the kind witch to patiently explain about the charms that he had - apparently unconsciously - cast at himself.

"I only wished that no one should notice," Harry admitted in a barely audible voice, knowing that he was sometimes able to wish for things.

"Please don't do it, as it affords unnecessary magic," the healer instructed him.

"I'll try," Harry promised.

HP

On the following day, the first years had their first Flying class. Before he left his room in the morning, Pomfrey had told him that he would probably be able to fly, as it was rather people's magic that allowed them to fly than their muscles. However, she instructed him in a strict voice to immediately come down to the ground if he noticed that he didn't feel well.

Since Pomfrey had not been completely certain about the matter, Harry did not feel overly reassured and was slightly afraid to fly. Nevertheless, he attended the Flying class, which took a dramatic turn when Neville managed to break his hand after mere ten minutes. The students patiently waited for the Flying instructor to return and allow them to fly.

"Oh look, Neville lost his Remembrall," Draco suddenly said, handing the ball to Harry. "Let's go and visit him in the hospital wing later on."

However, when Madam Hooch returned after a short while, Neville was with her.

"Madam Pomfrey has already healed my hand, but I'm never ever going to fly again," he informed his friends.

Finally, the first years were allowed to fly, and Harry enjoyed himself greatly. Seeing that several students could already fly very well, Madam Hooch gave them a Snitch to play, and to everyone's surprise, Harry was always the first to catch it.

Unbeknownst to Harry, Madam Hooch kept a close eye on him, knowing from Pomfrey that he might have problems flying too much. However, instead of developing any problems, the boy turned out to be a brilliant Seeker.

"I'll speak with Marcus Flint, the Slytherin Quidditch captain," Hooch told Harry at the end of the class. "You'll make a fantastic Seeker, and Slytherin is in dire need of one."

"That would be totally cool," Draco spoke up. "You're really brilliant, Harry. I'll also speak with Marcus and try to convince him."

"Marcus won't be a problem," Blaise threw in. "But Snape, because Harry is still a first year."

_'Snape will never allow me to play on the team,' _Harry thought, feeling slightly disappointed. _'It was really much fun to hunt down the Snitch.'_

HP

No one spoke to Harry about the matter on this evening, however, when he sat between Draco and Blaise at breakfast in the morning, Draco told him that Marcus, the Quidditch captain, had had a huge fight with Professor Snape in the common room. Although the whole Slytherin house had taken Marcus' side, Professor Snape had not agreed to make Harry Slytherin's Seeker.

"He's not a real Slytherin, and he's a first year anyway," Blaise whispered, imitating their head of house's way of speaking.

"He seems to hate me with a passion," Harry replied and stood from his seat, not feeling hungry anymore. _'I better go and get to the Transfiguration classroom on time,'_ he resolved.

HP

Unfortunately, the first years' Potions class was during the last afternoon class, so that Harry had to walk from the greenhouses to the dungeons in a fairly fast pace, not wanting to be late for Potions. During the class, he was very sore and felt hot and cold at the same time. When he went to get his ingredients, a bout of dizziness overcame him, and he quickly held on to a shelf in order to steady himself. Unfortunately, when he reached for the shelf, he accidentally stumbled against a cauldron with a simmering potion on the nearby table, causing the lime green liquid to explode all over himself.

"Potter!" Snape shouted, enraged. "100 points from your house and detention with me for a week for wasting an important potion. Go and see Pomfrey."

"Excuse me sir," Hermione spoke up in a soft voice. "May I please escort Harry to the hospital wing?"

"Ten points from Gryffindor for disturbing my class," the Potions master bellowed. "I'm sure all mighty Potter will find the way to the hospital wing himself."

HP

Harry grabbed his book bag and left. If he had been achy before, he now felt absolutely miserable and was shivering violently. Slightly holding on to the wall, he slowly dragged himself out of the dungeons and straight into his own room, where he scrambled into bed immediately.

"Ceridwen," he called out to the kind witch in the portrait. "Could you perhaps ask Madam Pomfrey to come to me when she has time, please?"

"Of course dear," the healer replied in a gentle voice. "I can see that you need her."

An instant later, Pomfrey entered the room, giving Harry a concerned look. She quietly listened to what Harry told her, before she waved her wand over him casting a diagnostic spell.

"Oh dear," she finally said. "I'm afraid that you managed to pour the potion for the squid's flu over yourself, which is the only of the common potions that may only be used internally. External use of the potion, which means when it hits your skin, it causes you to get ill with the squid's flu. I'll ask Professor Snape to make an additional batch of the potion, which he has to brew anew anyway, as Hagrid fell ill with the squid's flu. Until then I can only give you a fever reducer." She let out a long sigh, before she informed him, "I'm afraid that you'll have to remain in bed for at least two days."

HP

It was after curfew on the same day that Harry was lying in his bed, awake. Apparently worried about him, Pomfrey had left the doors between his room and her office open, and Harry unintentionally heard the teachers talk in her office.

_'They seem to have tea together, at least the four heads and Dumbledore,'_ he thought, when his name suddenly penetrated his ear.

"I'd like to make a suggestion," Pomfrey spoke up. "During the last three days, Harry has used his free time during his classmates' Defence Against the Dark Arts class to assist me with the brewing of potions. He is extremely adept, and he told me that he loves to brew and has even read all of the seven Potions books before the beginning of the school year. Therefore, I thought that maybe we could make him our student assistant. Severus doesn't have enough time to brew all the potions needed, due to his double workload, and it would help me greatly to have a student who can assist me in busy times."

"I believe that's a very good idea, provided that Harry is interested," Dumbledore replied, pleasantly. "If I remember correctly, his mother was also very adept at brewing. Severus, what do you think?"

"No Albus," Harry could hear the Potions professor's voice. "Only yesterday, our Quidditch captain wanted me to bend the first year rule in order to make Potter Slytherin's Seeker, and now you want to make him the student assistant for Potions. Just because an almighty Potter comes to Hogwarts, we have to change all the rules? Maybe it's time for him to learn that the world doesn't solely revolve around him. He's exactly like his father. He behaves as if Hogwarts belonged to him."

_'What?'_ Harry thought with a combination of horror and anger, tuning out the other professors' loud protests. _'What did I do?'_ He pondered the matter for a while, before he realised, _'I haven't done anything. It's just because Snape hates my father that he dislikes me so much. I'm going to do something about it,'_ he finally resolved.

_tbc..._

_Thank you for your kind comments for the previous chapter!_


	4. Chapter 4

**The Potions Master's Bane**  
**by Healer Pomfrey**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

**_Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, time travel, sick!Harry. I am only writing for fun and how I want it.  
_**

**_IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT, DON'T COMPLAIN BUT STAY AWAY FROM MY STORIES!_**

* * *

Only three days later, Pomfrey released Harry right on time for breakfast.

"If you don't feel well enough to head to the dungeons for your detention tonight, just come and tell me. I can excuse you at any time," the healer said in a soft voice, giving him a fond smile.

"Thank you so much," Harry replied, gratefully, even if he was certain that he would have to feel quite miserable before he'd accept the witch's kind offer. While he slowly headed to the Great Hall, he pondered when he should pull through with the stunt that he had carefully planned during his illness.

_'Better not in class,'_ he thought. _'Otherwise, they'll know that it was someone from our class. Any of the meal times would be better.'_ By the time he slipped into the empty seat between Blaise and Draco at the Slytherin table, he had decided to do it right away. While everyone was busily munching their breakfast, Harry unobtrusively glanced at the high table, where Professor Snape was taking sips from a mug.

Trying to summon as much magic as he could, Harry thought, _'I wish for Professor Snape to lose his complete memory of his time as a student at Hogwarts.'_

_'I hope it worked,'_ he thought, noticing that he had developed a terrible headache and was not feeling well at all. _'Maybe I used too much magic,'_ he realised, inwardly groaning at the prospect of having to climb up to the Transfiguration classroom.

"I better go to be on time," he told Draco and Blaise, while he rose from his chair, ignoring his friends' protests that he had not even taken as much as a bite from his breakfast.

HP

So far, Harry had always flawlessly managed all Transfiguration tasks, even if no one else or merely Hermione or Draco managed the spells. However, on this day, he tried over and over, unsuccessfully. The only result of his fruitless attempts was that his headache intensified and he began to feel dizzy.

This, however, did not go unnoticed by the teacher. "Mr. Potter, are you feeling all right?" Professor McGonagall suddenly asked, giving him a sharp look.

"Yes Professor," Harry lied, unaware of the fact that his cheeks were flushed feverishly and he looked outright ill.

"Ms. Granger, please take Mr. Potter to the hospital wing," McGonagall, however, asked her best first year lion, apparently realising that Harry was not well enough to follow his classes.

Pomfrey merely took his temperature and put him to bed, before she sat on the edge of his bed for a moment and said in a soft voice, "I'm sorry, Harry. I thought you'd be able to attend classes, but apparently, I released you too early. Try to sleep for a while. I'll excuse you with your teachers."

"May I perhaps have a headache potion?" Harry asked in a small voice, not wanting to have the healer do more checks and perhaps find out about the amount of magic that he had used this morning.

Fortunately, the healer agreed and did not further bother him with questions or checks, and Harry spent the day resting and worrying if his wish magic had worked until his friends came to visit him after the last afternoon class.

To Harry's chagrin, he was not able to find out if his wish magic had worked, since the next day was a Saturday and he only saw the Potions master at mealtimes. By the time the teachers used to have their tea in Madam Pomfrey's office on a daily basis, he was already asleep.

HP

When Harry went to the dungeons for his first detention on Monday evening - after skipping dinner to be on time - the professor greeted him relatively friendly. In a voice that for once held no malice, he told him, "You're going to brew all the potions, which you missed in class last week."

Trying in vain to hide the smile that crept onto his face upon the idea of being able to brew potions every evening, Harry replied, "Yes sir."

During the next three days, Harry brewed the remaining potions, and whilst the professor did not speak with Harry but merely nodded as he inspected his potions, he did not take any points from Slytherin. Even in class, the professor did not treat Harry any differently from the other students, and Harry slowly began to believe that his wish magic had to have worked.

_'I wonder what he's going to make me do tonight,'_ Harry thought, when he made his way to the Potions classroom on Friday evening. _'I already finished all the potions that the others brewed in class.'_ The Weasley twins, whom he had met once and ever since then had become friends with, had told him that Snape used to make students clean huge piles of dirty cauldrons. On the other hand, his older housemates had told him at lunchtime that Snape would never assign detention to a Slytherin student.

He prepared himself to be told to clean cauldrons, when the professor, to his surprise, informed him, "Madam Pomfrey has suggested that I ask you to brew a potion for her tonight. Are you able to brew Pepperup potion?"he queried, quirking an eyebrow.

Harry cast the teacher a surprised look, before he replied, simply, "Yes, of course, sir."

During the following hour, Harry busied himself brewing a flawless batch of Pepperup potion, and - to his surprise - the professor dismissed him immediately afterwards, so that Harry could still spend an hour in the Slytherin common room, before he had to leave to be back in his room by curfew.

HP

During the following weeks, Harry enjoyed himself greatly. The Potions professor did not treat him any differently anymore, and he did not take points when Harry showed up for his class a few minutes late. Harry got along well with his classmates and teachers. He usually spent the hour between the last afternoon class in the Slytherin common room, while his friends visited him in his room to study together after dinner. During the Defence class, Harry continued to assist Madam Pomfrey or even brew easy potions for her by himself.

Unbeknownst to the boy, Pomfrey always awarded Harry house points for his help, and just a month after the beginning of the school year, Slytherin was already far ahead of the other houses.

The only thing, which Harry really regretted, was that he was not allowed to play on the Quidditch team. On Marcus' request, he still attended practice from time to time, and he always caught the Snitch before the team's Seeker had even spotted it.

HP

It was on Halloween that the peace and quiet of the school year became disturbed greatly.

Harry, whose immune system was fairly poor due to the effects of the O'Leary disease, had taken ill with the Grindylow pox, and his best friends had decided to skip the Halloween feast and spend the evening with him, after Pomfrey had given them a preventive potion.

The five friends were animatedly talking, enjoying their Halloween dinner, which Pomfrey's elf Misty had served for them in Harry's room, when Harry all of a sudden gripped his head in agony.

"Harry, what's wrong?" Hermione was the first to enquire, giving her best friend a concerned look.

"Someone is incredibly happy," Harry mumbled in confusion, "because he gained a corporate body. I can feel all his emotions, and it hurts," he added, slightly moaning.

"Harry, is it your scar?" Draco asked, urgently, while Neville hurried to fetch the healer.

"I think so," Harry replied, gripping his head.

"Mr. Longbottom, please fetch the headmaster," Pomfrey said, shortly, after getting a glance at Harry.

Mere minutes later, Professor Dumbledore strode into the room. While he listened to Pomfrey's and Harry's explanation, his expression turned more serious by the minute.

"There's only one who can make your scar hurt," he said, gravely.

"Voldemort," Harry replied, more to himself than to the headmaster, feeling glad that his friends had retreated to the table at the other side of the room, from where they were listening quietly.

"Yes," Dumbledore confirmed. "What happened tonight is," he continued, "that Professor Quirrell came into the Great Hall during the feast and informed us that he had seen a troll in the dungeons. When Professors McGonagall and Snape told him that it was his job to deal with the troll, he left again but so far did not return. For the time being, we can only guess what happened. Maybe it has nothing to do with Voldemort though."

"Is it possible that Quirrell was possessed by the Dark Lord?" Draco suddenly voiced. "Harry said a few times that his scar hurt when he came near Quirrell."

"Is that so?" Dumbledore enquired, giving Harry a sharp look.

Harry let out a long sigh, before he nodded. "Yes sir. I didn't come near him very often, as I'm exempt from the Defence Against the Dark Arts class, however, I noticed it a few times when I looked at him in the Great Hall or when he was nearby in the corridors."

Dumbledore remained pensive for a moment, before he instructed Harry, "Make sure that you're never alone in the halls. I'll speak with Professors McGonagall and Snape... and perhaps with the goblins and elves about how to proceed. I'll inform you as soon as I know more." With that promise, he left the room in a speed that did not give out his one hundred and fifty years of age.

HP

During the following weeks, nothing happened, and even if Harry could still feel Voldemort's emotions and was sure that he had taken over Professor Quirrell's body, he rarely ever met the Defence professor in the halls, and he was always surrounded by his friends_. 'Which wouldn't help me much if he cast the killing curse at me,'_ Harry thought, worriedly.

It was shortly after the Christmas holidays that Dumbledore called Harry, Draco and Blaise into his office. To their surprise and maybe slight relief, Professors Snape and McGonagall were present as well.

"My dear boys," Dumbledore greeted them, offering them a lemon drop, which the students politely declined. "After long discussions with the goblins and the elves, we have found a way to do the first step that is necessary in order to vanquish Voldemort."

"Excuse me, sir, but the first step?" Draco was the first to ask, causing his friends to nod in silent agreement at the question.

Dumbledore sighed deeply. "Voldemort has made Horcruxes," he replied and explained how the evil wizard had split his soul into several parts. "Before we'll be able to somehow kill him, we need to get rid of the Horcruxes, which would be a long and dangerous search. Now fortunately, the goblins invented a spell that gathers all the Horcruxes back in their owner's corporate body, provided that the spell is cast in a sufficiently strong way."

"Excuse me, sir, but why do we need to cast the spell?" Harry queried, raising an eyebrow. "There are surely students or professors, who're much more qualified to cast such an important spell."

"Yes my boy," Dumbledore agreed in a grave voice. "A few years before you were born, a prophecy was made about you and Voldemort. You're the one who has to vanquish him. I'm sorry my boy."

"To make sure that the spell is strong enough," Snape continued on the headmaster's behalf, "we want the three of you to cast it together. Do you agree to assist Harry, Draco and Blaise?"

"Yes sir," Draco and Blaise confirmed, simultaneously. "I trust that my father will not hear of this," Draco added, looking from Snape to the headmaster.

"Of course not," Snape promised.

"Very well," Dumbledore said, seemingly contented. "We're now going to teach you the spell, and we believe that it would be the safest if you cast it at dinner time. Sit as close to the high table as possible, next to each other, and unobtrusively cast the spell together."

"At the same time, I shall cast a prank at Professor McGonagall, so if anyone asks what you did with your wands, you can tell them that you played the prank," Snape explained, smirking.

"Will the Dark Lord notice it when the Horcruxes come back into his body?" Blaise asked, curiously.

Dumbledore let out a long sigh. "Of course I can't be sure about this, but I don't think so," he finally replied.

During the next twenty minutes, Harry, Draco and Blaise practised the incantation as well as the wand movement, before they headed down to the Great Hall for dinner, feeling very excited at the task ahead.

HP

The three boys waited until everyone was engrossed in their meal, before Draco whispered "Now." They unobtrusively waved their wands under the table, merely followed by onyx eyes. While Professor Quirrell did not show any reaction, Professor McGonagall's outfit changed into that of a baby, her plate and cutlery were transfigured into baby dishes and her glass into a feeding bottle.

All students began to laugh at the sight, and Millicent asked, incredulously, "Did you do that, Draco, Harry and Blaise? I saw you wave your wands under the table."

"Shh, don't tell anyone or McGonagall will take tons of house points," Draco hissed, grinning at his friends.

_'I wonder if it worked at all,'_ Harry thought. _'I can't feel any emotions like I always sense when he's upset or such.'_

"We'll probably never know," Draco said, coolly, when Harry voiced his doubt later on in his own room.

"Only when you try to kill him and it either works or doesn't," Blaise added in a soft voice.

"Is it really me who has to kill him?" Harry asked, horrified. "Probably yes, but how? I can't very well run through the school and cast killing curses at teachers."

Hermione shook her head in disbelief. "If it's a fact that you have to kill Voldemort, then you must do it as soon as possible, before he kills you. He'll surely know about the prophecy as well, otherwise, he wouldn't have gone after you when you were a baby. Speak with Professor Dumbledore and ask him what you're supposed to do," she added as an afterthought.

"I'll do that," Harry replied in determination. He glanced at his wrist watch. It was almost curfew. "I'll go and see him right away. You have to return to your houses anyway," he said, firmly, and rose from his chair.

HP

In the entrance hall, Harry separated from his friends and slowly walked towards the headmaster's office, glad that it was not far, as he was already tired from heading from one classroom to the next during the day.

However, just when he entered the corridor, in which the gargoyle guarding the headmaster's office was situated, no other than Professor Quirrell aka Voldemort came from the other direction walking right up to him.

_tbc..._

_Thank you for your kind comments for the previous chapter!_


	5. Chapter 5

**The Potions Master's Bane**  
**by Healer Pomfrey**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

**_Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, time travel, sick!Harry. I am only writing for fun and how I want it.  
_**

**_IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT, DON'T COMPLAIN BUT STAY AWAY FROM MY STORIES!_**

* * *

_'__Oh no,'_ Harry thought, horrified. _'What am I going to do?'_ He saw Voldemort pull his wand and, panicking, released a huge bout of magic into the thought _'I need to get away from him'._

Suddenly, the scenery slightly changed in front of his eyes. He was not in the corridor anymore, however, he could still see it. _'What happened?'_ he wondered, eyeing his surroundings in confusion. He suddenly realised with a combination of bewilderment and amazement that he found himself in one of the paintings that were decorating the walls to both sides of the corridor. Voldemort was still standing in the hall, staring at the spot where Harry had been an instant before in apparent disbelief.

Harry quickly hid behind a tree, where the evil wizard would not be able to spot him and pondered his situation. _'How did I manage to get into the painting?'_ he thought in disbelief. _'Did Voldemort manage to kill me? Am I dead? Or will I be able to get out again?'_

"Hello dear," one of the two witches from the painting of a picnic scene with two witches and two wizards suddenly addressed him. "How did you manage to climb into our painting?"

"I don't know, but the man out there wants to kill me," Harry whispered. "He mustn't see me."

The ladies chuckled. "Then it's better when you leave. From here, you can travel through any portrait at Hogwarts or even elsewhere. Just think of the portrait or painting that you wish to visit."

"Go to a portrait in a far away part of the castle and try to get out again," one of them advised him.

Harry profusely thanked the two witches and wished himself into the portrait of Ceridwen that was guarding his own room, staring at the ancient witch in relief when he succeeded.

HP

"Harry!" Ceridwen blurted out in apparent disbelief. "How did you manage to come in here?"

Harry told her the whole story and sighed. "So much about going to see the headmaster," he added, rolling his eyes in annoyance.

"Well, I can always ask Poppy to call the headmaster here," Ceridwen replied, pleasantly.

"All right, but let me try to get out of here first," Harry replied, thinking, _'I want to go out of the portrait into my room.'_ As soon as he had finished the thought, he was standing in front of the portrait, seeing Ceridwen smile at him.

"Tomorrow, when you're well rested, you have to try if you can get in and out at any time," she suggested. "If that worked, it would give you an incredible lot of possibilities. You better not tell anyone about it though, at least for the time being."

"All right," Harry agreed and sat on one of the chairs, while he waited for the headmaster to visit him.

HP

"Unfortunately, it's not that easy," Dumbledore told him, pensively. "In the prophecy, it states that you have an ability of which Voldemort doesn't know. Therefore, we first have to find out what your secret ability might be."

"Oh," Harry replied, completely surprised at the unexpected revelation.

"Do you have any idea what this might be, my boy?" Dumbledore enquired, thoughtfully popping a lemon drop into his mouth.

Harry glanced at Ceridwen, who gave him a comforting nod. "Maybe yes," he replied, reluctantly, and admitted how he had managed to jump into a painting earlier.

Dumbledore's expression slowly stretched to a smile. "This must be your ability of which Voldemort doesn't know," he said, contentedly. "Tomorrow, I will teach you a spell that you can cast at him from inside a painting. As you probably don't want to use the killing curse," he continued, glancing at the boy, who vehemently shook his head, "you can use an ancient spell. It takes a little longer to cast than the unforgivable curse, so that it is important that Voldemort doesn't see you. Otherwise, he'd be able to simply kill you before you're finished with the incantation."

Apparently noticing that Harry was dead on his feet, Dumbledore finally excused himself with the instruction to come into his office right before breakfast. "It's too dangerous for you to wait with this. I'll teach you the spell during breakfast, and afterwards, we're going to have an impromptu staff meeting. There's a portrait of the four founders in the staff room, from which you'll be able to cast the spell," he informed the boy, before he left in a seemingly good mood.

_'That sounds fool proof, however, will I be able to get into a portrait again at all?'_ Harry thought, doubtfully, and decided to try it out right away.

To his immense relief, he instantly managed to step into Ceridwen's portrait.

"Very well done, Harry," the ancient healer commended him, before she added in a strict voice, "and now you're going to go to bed instantly."

HP

More or less ignoring the offered breakfast, Harry diligently practised the spell until he was sure that he'd be able to cast it flawlessly.

Dumbledore nodded, contentedly. "Godric," he suddenly addressed the founder in his portrait. "This is Harry Potter, and I'd like you to accompany him into the staff room. He's going to cast the spell, which he just practised here, at Voldemort."

To Harry's surprise, Godric Gryffindor began to chuckle. "Young headmaster, in contrary to you, I know exactly who Harry Potter is. You might not be aware of the fact that my wife is a Seer. However, we've all known since our own time that Harry Potter is the first heir of all four of us. Of course I'll accompany the little one. Come Harry," he added in a much gentler voice.

Harry quickly thanked Dumbledore for teaching him the spell, before he made his way into Godric's portrait and followed him into the painting of all four founders in the staff room.

HP

Even if Harry had already heard from Godric that he was the first heir of all four founders, he had not expected the other three founders to make such a fuss over him. They only quietened, motioning Harry to stand behind Helga and Rowena, when the first teachers entered the room for their impromptu staff meeting.

'Potter, begin as soon as the Dark Lord enters the room,' Snape instructed him, telepathically, causing Harry to look up in surprise at the sudden request.

He unobtrusively nodded, not sure if the potions master would be able to see him at all, just when Professor Quirrell aka Voldemort entered the room. Fortunately, the teachers, who had arrived first, were all sitting on the other side of the table, so that Voldemort automatically took a seat with his back towards Harry.

_'Now,'_ Harry thought and immediately began to cast the spell that he had practised earlier.

Barely two minutes later, when Dumbledore was just about to begin the staff meeting, Voldemort was slumped in his seat, his head coming to lie on the table with a small thud.

"Well done, Harry," he heard Rowena whisper to him, while he observed how Dumbledore, Snape and Pomfrey waved their wands over the evil wizard.

"He's dead," Pomfrey finally confirmed.

"Severus, is the Dark Mark gone?" Dumbledore asked, urgently, turning to the potions master, who hurriedly rolled up his left sleeve, staring at the blank spot on his arm in apparent disbelief.

"Come out here, Harry," Dumbledore instructed the boy. "Well done my boy. You did it. You fulfilled the prophecy."

Harry hesitantly stepped out of the portrait, just when Pomfrey addressed the potions master. "Now Severus, don't you think this is a reason to bury your grudges against Harry?"

"Grudges?" Snape replied in obvious surprise. "What grudges?"

"Because he looks like his father," McGonagall threw in, rolling her eyes in apparent annoyance.

"Harry's father? Do I know him?" Snape queried, glancing around in confusion.

"Oh well, I'm going to head to my first morning class," McGonagall spoke up in determination and left the room, closely followed by Sprout, Flitwick and Hagrid, while Pomfrey and the headmaster stared at Snape in what seemed to be utmost concern.

_'I'll be faster if I travel through portraits,'_ Harry thought and jumped back into the painting of the founders.

"Excuse me, Professors," he asked, hesitating, "do you perhaps know a painting near the Transfiguration classroom that I could use to travel?"

"Go to my portrait that's guarding McGonagall's private rooms," Godric instructed him. "It's just around the corner from the Transfiguration classroom."

Harry profusely thanked the founder and managed to arrive in front of the classroom even before the professor. _'I did it. I got rid of Voldemort,_' he thought, as he happily greeted his friends, who eyed him in apparent concern because he had missed breakfast. "I'll tell you later on," he promised, just when Professor McGonagall opened the classroom door.

HP

The first years' last morning class was Defence, and Harry motioned his friends to accompany him to his room. "Defence is going to be cancelled. Voldemort is dead," he told them, feeling very happy and relieved at the fact.

His friends, especially Hermione, had many questions, about the spell, about his ability to get into portraits and about his relationship to the founders, so that the time passed in a blur. Before Harry knew what happened, it was time to head to the Great Hall for lunch.

Harry sat between Draco and Blaise, suddenly feeling famished. _'Of course, I missed breakfast,'_ he recalled, grinning. _'I wonder if and when Dumbledore will tell everyone that Voldemort is gone,' _he thought, as he absentmindedly devoured a large helping of Shepherd's pie.

By the time everyone had almost finished eating, the headmaster rose from his seat and informed the whole school about the earlier morning's events. "Tonight, we're going to have a demise party here in the Great Hall," he announced, "and to properly celebrate Harry's achievement, classes will be cancelled for the rest of the week."

HP

During the following days, Harry and his friends spent much time studying together. They also explored parts of the library, which they had not used before, and Harry assisted Pomfrey with easy potions for at least two hours each day. Even if the healer emphasized that he should use his free time to rest of play with his friends, Harry thoroughly enjoyed himself spending some time in her small lab.

On Monday morning, when classes resumed, the first years' first morning class was Potions, and Harry skipped breakfast to be on time in the dungeons for once, resolving to find out if there were any portraits nearby that he could use to get to the Potions classroom faster.

For some reason, he had a bad feeling, when he headed to the classroom, although he could not explain why. However, as soon as the class began, he should realise that his feeling had not betrayed him.

_tbc..._

_Thanks to the kind readers who commented on the previous chapter!_


	6. Chapter 6

**The Potions Master's Bane**  
**by Healer Pomfrey**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

**_Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, time travel, sick!Harry. I am only writing for fun and how I want it.  
_**

**_IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT, DON'T COMPLAIN BUT STAY AWAY FROM MY STORIES!_**

* * *

The Potions Master instructed the students to begin with their potion, and Harry looked up to view the recipe that was displayed on the board with interest. However, all of a sudden, he felt a strange presence in his mind and, after a few seconds, the scene of himself casting a memory spell at the professor played in front of his mind. Finally, the other presence retreated, leaving him with a splitting headache.

"Potter," Snape said, icily, "detention with me until the end of the school year. Accompany me to the headmaster's office. NOW." With that he cast an Evanesco spell around the classroom, banishing all potions and ingredients from the desks and instructed the students to write an essay about the difference between magical and not magical potions ingredients.

Harry slowly trailed behind the angry professor out of the dungeons, not caring that the man was long out of sight when he reached the entrance hall. He knew that he was in trouble because of casting a memory charm at his teacher, however, somehow, he could not care less. He was only sad that the professor would, once again, despise him. _'He doesn't even care that I like to brew potions,'_ he thought, feeling very upset at the idea of cleaning dirty cauldrons every evening and getting points taken from his house on a daily basis.

To his surprise and annoyance, Snape was waiting for him in front of the gargoyle, mumbling something like "About time," before he gave the password "Order of Merlin."

_'He's surely pissed off that I received the Order of Merlin first class,'_ Harry thought, inwardly grinning, although he could not care less about the award and had told the headmaster as much, when he had received it at the demise party.

HP

He was brought back to reality when they entered the headmaster's office.

"Severus, Harry," Dumbledore greeted them, pleasantly.

"Albus," Snape spoke up in an upset voice. "It was Potter who cast the memory charm at me. Don't you think it's a fair reason to expel him?"

Dumbledore looked at Harry. "Is that so?" he queried, gently.

"Yes sir, because it was unsettling that Snape treated me badly just because I look like my father. I don't even know my father, sir," Harry replied, matter-of-factly, only to add, "Snape attacked my mind to find out about this, sir. Are teachers allowed to do such a thing?"

Dumbledore let out a long sigh, before he said in a stern voice, "I want the two of you to behave yourselves and treat each other with respect. Harry, please do not cast memory charms at anyone, as they can be very dangerous. Severus, please do not use Legilimency on students without their prior consent." With that he dismissed the two young wizards.

HP

Harry did not even bother to return to the Potions classroom, realising that the class would be over after twenty more minutes, almost the time that it would take him to get there without overexerting himself. Instead, he headed back to his own room to speak with Ceridwen.

He told her the whole story. "I was so happy at Hogwarts. It's such an amazing place, and I've finally found a home and good friends, but if my head of house, let alone the teacher of my favourite subject hates me with a passion..." He slowly trailed off, realising that he sounded very whiny.

"I so understand," Ceridwen replied in a soft voice, "and I have an idea what you can do. However, the second morning class is going to commence in a few minutes' time, so you better leave in order to not have to hurry."

HP

During the rest of the day, Harry wondered what Ceridwen's idea could be. He remained absentminded during all his classes and even managed to lose house points in his Charms and Herbology classes.

"Harry, are you feeling all right?" Hermione asked in concern, when the friends walked to the Great Hall for lunch.

Harry shook his head and replied, "Sorry, Mione, I'm going to skip lunch. I want to go back to my room. Ceridwen told me she had an idea for me."

"I'll come with you then," Hermione said in determination and followed Harry into his own room, motioning the others to proceed to the Great Hall.

"Are you back already?" Ceridwen queried, sternly. "Who allowed you to miss lunch?"

Harry let out a long sigh. "Sorry Ceridwen, but I'd like to hear about your idea first, before I'll be able to eat anything," he replied in a small voice, causing Hermione to nod her agreement.

Ceridwen smirked. "Take Hermione with you and travel from my portrait here to the portrait of mine in Helga's office in the year 991," she instructed the boy, only to add, "At that time, we can attend classes together, and I know for a fact that my brother-in-law will be thrilled to have you assist in his potions lab."

Harry and Hermione exchanged an exasperated glance, before Hermione began to question the ancient healer. "Is Harry able to travel one thousand years into the past through your portrait?" she asked, incredulously. "Plus how will he be able to take me with him?"

Ceridwen was still smiling, as she replied, "You may not know this, but my sister's best friend, Rowena, was a Seer. She has told me about the two of you and about your travels together."

"Let's go," Harry spoke up in determination. "Mione, will you come with me?"

"Ceridwen," Hermione asked in apparent excitement, "will we be able to come back here at any time? My parents..." She slowly trailed off, giving the kind witch in the portrait a questioning look.

"Of course, dear," Ceridwen replied in a soothing voice. "Maybe it would be good if you could take your Potions books with you. I'm sure my sister and brother-in-law would appreciate it."

"Of course," Harry said, readily. "Should we try to get some more advanced books as well before leaving?"

Ceridwen nodded and called Mistry, Pomfrey's elf. "Misty, could you please provide all Potions and Healing books for us that might be interesting for my sister, one thousand years into the past? There should be enough money left in my old account to cover for the expenses."

"You can just take the money from the Potter account," Harry instructed the elf, who gave him a reassuring nod and popped away.

"I'll go and fetch my belongings," Hermione muttered and dashed away.

"Ceridwen," Harry spoke up, pensively. "Should we tell anyone here what we're going to do?"

"Yes, I'll tell Pomfrey, and she will give you a letter to hand over to my sister," Ceridwen promised, gently. "In the meantime, you can attend your afternoon classes."

"Let's do that," Hermione readily agreed. "That way, we can also inform our friends."

HP

After the last afternoon class, Harry and Hermione returned to Harry's room in utmost excitement.

"I hope you'll be able to take me with you at all," Hermione suddenly voiced, casting Harry an uncertain look.

"If Rowena Ravenclaw has seen us go to the past together, it'll be possible," Harry reassured her, and ten minutes later, he carefully reached for Hermione's hand and wished himself into Ceridwen's portrait together with his best friend.

"Oh my God, it really worked. We're in the portrait," Hermione blurted out in absolute excitement. She gave Harry a pleading look. "Harry, do you think we could just travel through Hogwarts a bit before leaving for the time of the founders?" she asked, eagerly.

Harry shrugged. "Of course," he agreed, quirking an eyebrow in silent question.

"Maybe the portraits in the main corridors," Hermione suggested, glancing at her wrist watch.

"Let's have a look into the staff room," Harry contradicted. "I heard McGonagall tell Sprout that they were going to have an urgent staff meeting before dinner."

"Are you sure that they won't see us?" Hermione asked, hesitantly.

"Not if we remain in the back," Harry reassured her and thought of the painting of the four founders in the staffroom.

HP

The two first years arrived just on time for the beginning of the staff meeting.

"We urgently need a new Defence teacher, however, the only possible candidate is Gilderoy Lockhardt," Dumbledore began to speak, letting his eyes wander over his colleagues. "Does anyone know anyone perhaps more suitable for the position? With Voldemort gone, I hope that the curse over the position is broken now, so that we should be able to hire someone on a permanent basis."

"Remus Lupin," McGonagall replied, apparently even without having to think about the matter.

"A werewolf?" Snape threw in, letting out a sound that resembled a snort. "Gallivanting the grounds in the moon light, perhaps together with Potter?"

The headmaster let out a long sigh. "Severus, would you perhaps be willing to brew the Wolfsbane potion for him?" he asked, gently. "I know that it's much work, but maybe you should let Harry assist you like Poppy suggested already multiple times."

"No Albus." The Potions Master's reply came immediately. "I shall brew the Wolfsbane for Lupin, but leave me in peace with Potter."

Harry had heard enough. "Shall we leave?" he whispered to Hermione, who gave him a reassuring nod.

HP

"All right Ceridwen, we're going to leave now," Harry addressed the witch, when they arrived back in his own room.

Ceridwen returned a genuine smile. "Don't forget Pomfrey's letter. It's on your desk over there."

"I should go and thank her for everything before leaving," Harry replied and, together with Hermione, left the painting.

They spoke with the healer for a few minutes, who promised to not reveal their whereabouts to anyone, even if no one would be able to follow them into the past anyway.

"I'll tell them the reason why you chose to leave, however," she added in a grim voice. "I hope you'll come to visit me at any time."

"We'll do that," the students promised, simultaneously, before Harry pocketed the letter and pulled Hermione back into Ceridwen's portrait.

"My younger self will be so happy to have you there," Ceridwen informed them and suggested that they should travel to the summer in 991, so that they could attend their first Hogwarts year together. "You'll have to commence from the beginning anyway, since classes in the past are very different from nowadays," she added as an afterthought.

"We'll do that," Harry promised and, sensing that Hermione held his hand in a firm grip, whished themselves to Ceridwen's portrait in that respective year.

HP

_'Thank Merlin that Hermione is with me, otherwise I'd surely be even more frightened,'_ Harry thought, when they arrived next to a witch who seemed to be of their own age.

"Hello there, who are you and what are you doing in my portrait?" eleven-year-old Ceridwen asked. However, it was not in an unfriendly way - on the contrary. She smiled her beautiful smile, which she had already shown Harry so often in the future.

"Hello Ceridwen," Harry replied, smiling, before he informed her about their time travel, which in fact her older self had suggested to them.

"Oh, that was a brilliant idea of my older self," Ceridwen replied, seemingly pleased. "She must have liked you a lot, otherwise, she wouldn't have sent you, and I'm very happy to have you here, because it's so boring without the students here. Are you able to get out of the portraits?" she then enquired.

"Yes," Harry confirmed, giving the girl a questioning look.

"Well, then you should go and see my real self. She's just in the Great Hall having lunch. Do you know where the Great Hall is?"

"Yes, we know that," Hermione threw in, eagerly.

"Let's go then," Harry decided and pulled Hermione with him out of the portrait.

After a quick good-bye to Ceridwen in the portrait, they slowly made their way towards the Great Hall, noticing that everything looked like in their own time. Merely the paintings were missing that decorated the corridors in the future.

"I can't believe that we just travelled one thousand years into the past," Hermione said, incredulously. "It feels more like a dream."

Harry grinned. "It's not a dream, Mione. Can we just go in there, or are the founders going to hex us if we just show up?" Harry asked, when they reached the Great Hall, giving Hermione an unsure glance.

"Well, if they do, they'll be able to reverse it. They won't kill us right away," Hermione replied in determination and carefully opened the door.

Harry was just about to follow her into the Great Hall, when she hurriedly closed the door, giving Harry a horrified look.

"Mione, what's wrong?" Harry asked in concern.

However, the girl merely stared at him, wide-eyed.

_tbc..._

_Thanks to the kind readers who commented on the previous chapter!_


	7. Chapter 7

**The Potions Master's Bane**  
**by Healer Pomfrey**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

**_Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, time travel, sick!Harry. I am only writing for fun and how I want it.  
_**

**_IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT, DON'T COMPLAIN BUT STAY AWAY FROM MY STORIES!_**

* * *

"A snake," Hermione finally stammered. "It's huge, and it's roaming the Great Hall."

"A snake?" Harry asked, incredulously. "Shall we go back and ask Ceridwen about it?"

Hermione sighed. "You can't walk back there and here again. It's too much, Harry. Maybe..." She interrupted herself, when the door to the Great Hall was suddenly opened from inside.

It was a tall wizard with a grumpy expression. "Who are you and what do you want?" he asked, when Ceridwen stepped out of the Great Hall and in front of him.

"Hello there, who are you?" she asked, smiling.

"We're time travellers," Hermione quickly explained, "and we came here on a suggestion of your older self in a portrait."

"Ah, you must be Harry and Hermione then. Rowena told me that you were going to come to attend Hogwarts together with me. Come in, Hermione and Harry."

"But the snake..." Hermione blurted out, staring from Ceridwen to the grumpy wizard.

Ceridwen chuckled. "Ah, the basilisk. That's Salazar's familiar, Amaterasu. She's an absolute sweetie. Come, I'll introduce you to her."

By the time Harry and Hermione followed Ceridwen and Salazar into the Great Hall, Amaterasu was curled up in front of the fireplace, slightly snoring.

"She's only allowed inside the school during the holidays," Ceridwen explained. "During the school year, she resides in Salazar's secret chamber."

HP

By now they had reached the high table, and Ceridwen introduced them to Godric, Rowena and Helga.

"Harry and Hermione," Rowena spoke up, clearly pleased, while Helga stepped over trying to pull the time travellers into light hugs.

"We're happy to have you here," she added. "We were expecting you because of Rowena's visions, and Ceridwen just couldn't wait for you to finally arrive."

"It was Ceridwen's idea to send us here," Harry replied, grinning. "Her portrait was guarding my room in our time, and she suggested for us to travel to this time and attend Hogwarts together with her."

"If that's possible at all," Hermione added, questioningly. "We don't have any money with us and don't even have proper clothes of this time."

"That doesn't matter dears," Helga replied, smiling. "Harry is the heir of all four of us, and therefore, we're going to become his and your guardians and will see to it that you get everything you need to be able to live in this time."

"First of all, you should do something about their English," Salazar threw in, sounding very grumpy.

"Let me do that," Godric, the headmaster, spoke up. "Will you allow me to cast a charm at you that will make you understand our English and will make your language sound like the English of this time?"

"Of course," Harry and Hermione agreed, immediately, causing Godric to wave his wand over both of them in a quick sequence.

"So what exactly is the reason why you want to study in our time, apart from a suggestion from the chatterbox?" Salazar queried, quirking an eyebrow at Harry.

While Harry cast Ceridwen an incredulous look, which she returned rolling her eyes, Hermione began to explain on his behalf. "Harry is very interested in Potions and really wants to study more than we learn in class, and he even used his free periods to assist our healer with potions. However, our Potions professor hates Harry with a passion, just because he looks like his father, who was our professor's arch enemy during their own time at Hogwarts. Therefore, Harry hoped that you would be willing to teach him in Potions, sir."

Salazar merely quirked an eyebrow at Harry in silent question.

"Yes sir, please teach me if possible," Harry added, eagerly.

"Harry, don't forget to give Professor Hufflepuff the letter from Madam Pomfrey," Hermione suddenly remembered to instruct her friend. "Maybe she has explained a bit more."

"Oh right," Harry agreed and handed the letter to the current healer, who immediately engrossed herself in her reading.

"Poppy Pomfrey is the healer in 1992. She said she wanted to make Harry her student assistant for Potions, however, the Potions professor declined because of a private grudge towards Harry's father," Helga spoke up, shaking her head in annoyance.

"Well, that won't hinder us," Salazar threw in, smirking, only to add, "provided that he's good enough."

"She writes something else though," Helga added in a sterner voice. "Harry is suffering from a magical muscle disease, which is even in the future incurable so far."

"Well, then we'll make it our next project, right after the wolvescure," Salazar replied in determination. "If you're really able to assist, I'll have more time for research," he added in Harry's direction.

"I'd love to assist," Harry replied, feeling very happy at the offer.

"Excuse me, sir," Hermione suddenly spoke up, "the wolvescure?"

"Is there a cure for lycanthropy in the future?" Salazar returned the question, quirking an eyebrow in apparent expectation.

"No sir," Hermione replied, eagerly. "Earlier today, we overheard a conversation that the professors want to hire a werewolf as Defence professor, so there probably is no cure in our time."

"That's a pity," Salazar said, clearly disappointed. "I'm trying to develop a cure, and I believe that I'm fairly close already, but perhaps it's still only the beginning. Maybe I'll never manage to invent it if it doesn't exist in the future."

"It might as well be lost, sir," Hermione added, pensively. "In our time, you're famous as the most brilliant Potions master of all times, sir. If anyone will be able to develop such a thing, it's probably you."

HP

After a quick lunch, Salazar invited Harry to join him in his potions lab, however, Helga held her husband back. "Harry, are you feeling well enough to assist in the lab?" she asked in concern. "Unfortunately, I don't have any experience with your illness, so that you must help me and tell me when you're not feeling well."

"I'd like to assist," Harry replied in a small voice, wondering if the potions lab was as far as the Potions classroom in his own time.

"Then I'll go and show Hermione Hogwarts," Ceridwen spoke up, pleasantly.

Turning to her colleagues, Helga explained what Pomfrey had written about Harry's room within the hospital wing and suggested to just assign Harry and Hermione their own rooms within their private quarters like Ceridwen had her own room. "That way, Harry can just continue living in our quarters when the school year commences, even if Hermione and Ceridwen move to their respective dormitories," she added, and the other founders agreed.

"I'm sorry," Harry said in a small voice, causing Helga and Rowena to stare at him in surprise.

"Nothing to be sorry about, dear," Helga was the first to reply, casting her friend a look that clearly expressed that she had not told her everything yet that was written in the letter.

HP

Together with Hermione and Ceridwen, Harry followed the founders into their private quarters, where the adults promised to add two new rooms during the afternoon.

"Come Potter," Salazar said in the same grumpy way, in which he had spoken ever since Harry had arrived.

_'I hope he doesn't also hate me for some reason,'_ Harry thought, as he followed the Potions master through his and Helga's living room into his private lab with a combination of excitement and apprehension. His eyes widened in amazement, when he stepped into the lab behind Salazar.

The extremely bright room looked more futuristic than the other rooms that Harry had seen on their way. One wall was completely covered by a window that allowed the view over the grounds. One of the small walls held several sinks, and the other was decorated with empty shelves. The wall opposite of the window was covered by white shelves that reached from the floor to the ceiling. All shelves were filled with phials, cauldrons and ingredients. An enormous table with multiple work stations occupied the centre of the large room.

"This is amazing," Harry blurted out, staring at the ingredient shelves in awe.

Salazar smirked. "The best of it is that all the ingredients shelves are self refilling," he explained, before he motioned Harry to take a seat on a chair in front of the work stations.

"Potter, since you come from one thousand years in the future, potions and ingredients might be different from your time," he spoke up in a stern voice, however, less grumpy than he had sounded before. "Don't touch anything that you don't know. If you don't know how to prepare an ingredient, ask. Is that clear?" he growled.

"Yes sir," Harry replied in a firm voice.

"Very well," the Potions master said, contentedly. "During the two and a half weeks before the beginning of the school year, you shall assist me brewing potions for the hospital room. As you know, my wife Helga is the healer here, and she has given me a long list with potions that she needs for the school year. After these two and a half weeks, I shall decide if you're adept enough to become my student assistant or if you should just attend the normal Potions class for the time being."

"Yes sir, thank you very much, sir," Harry replied, inwardly groaning. _'I need to do my very best during the remaining weeks of the holidays,'_ he resolved.

Finally, Salazar motioned Harry over to one of the work spaces and instructed him to prepare ingredients for him.

Harry eagerly set to work. He carefully cut, sliced and chopped the ingredients like Madam Pomfrey had taught him during the last six months. However, every now and then, Salazar hissed, "Stop!"

Just an hour later, Harry was already certain that Salazar would never accept him as student assistant. _'Maybe he even won't allow me to assist again tomorrow,'_ he thought in frustration, after Salazar had corrected him for the tenth time. On the other hand, he was glad that Salazar seemed to really want to properly teach him and in spite of his worries managed to enjoy himself.

Harry looked up in surprise, when all of a sudden, Helga walked into the room and scolded both of them for being late for dinner.

HP

"Both of you are not supposed to miss a meal," the healer said in a no-nonsense voice.

"Yes dear, we're coming," Salazar agreed and motioned for Harry to leave everything as it was, mumbling something like "clean up later on."

"No Sal, after dinner, Harry and Hermione are going straight to bed," Helga replied, firmly. "They came here in their evening, so they must both be absolutely exhausted by now."

Only then did Harry notice how tired he was. "May I perhaps skip dinner and go to bed right away?" he asked in a small voice, not feeling fit enough to walk to the Great Hall, even if it was not far from the founders' quarters.

Helga gave him a sharp look, apparently understanding that he was dead on his feet. "Very well," she relented. "However, this is an absolute exception. From tomorrow onwards, I will not tolerate it if you miss a meal."

"Yes Professor," Harry replied, trying to suppress a yawn.

_tbc..._

_Thanks to the kind readers who commented on the previous chapter!_


	8. Chapter 8

**The Potions Master's Bane**  
**by Healer Pomfrey**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

**_Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, time travel, sick!Harry. I am only writing for fun and how I want it.  
_**

**_IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT, DON'T COMPLAIN BUT STAY AWAY FROM MY STORIES!_**

* * *

During the following days, Harry spent the time from breakfast to dinner in the potions lab with Salazar. They only grudgingly interrupted their work for a short lunch break, knowing that otherwise Helga would come after them anyway. However, Helga strictly forbade Harry to go to the lab again after dinner.

"You need some rest as well as some fresh air," she said in a no-nonsense voice and instructed Ceridwen and Hermione to take Harry out onto the grounds in the evenings.

In the meantime, Ceridwen and Hermione had become good friends, and Hermione was very happy, since Ceridwen was the first female friend that she had ever had. They spent the days roaming the library as well as the grounds and went to ride on the unicorns together with Rowena on a daily basis.

When Harry heard how his two friends had spent their day in the evening, he sometimes regretted that he did not join them, however, on the other hand, he was extremely happy to be able to properly learn how to brew, and he absolutely loved to brew together with Salazar. The Potions Master was very moody and often even a little scary, however, he did his best to teach Harry the precise art of brewing, which Harry really appreciated.

HP

On Sunday morning, Rowena invited Harry to join her, Ceridwen and Hermione for a trip with the unicorns.

"Yes Harry, come with us, we're going to have a picnic and won't be back until before dinner," Ceridwen added in apparent excitement.

"But..." Harry stammered, glancing at Salazar, torn between the urge to assist in the lab and the wish to accompany his friends for once.

"I won't allow you to brew potions today anyway," Helga informed him, sternly. "If you feel well enough for a unicorn ride, you might as well accompany your friends."

"All right," Harry agreed, wondering if he would be able to ride on a unicorn at all, as he had never sat on one.

"You must be careful though, as I don't know how strenuous it'll be for you," Helga warned him. "If you don't feel well, please tell Rowena so that she'll take you back here immediately."

"Okay," Harry agreed. _'I hope it's like flying, that it works just by my magic not muscle power or whatever,'_ he thought, resolving to willingly cast a concealment charm for the first time if necessary.

HP

Harry felt slightly apprehensive, when Ceridwen and Hermione ran to fetch their unicorns, while Rowena instructed him to wait for a moment.

Fortunately, it was not long before the professor returned with a unicorn. "This is Moonlight," she introduced the large animal to the boy. "She's extremely gentle and is our unicorn for the beginners' riding class."

"Hello Moonlight," Harry said in a soft voice and carefully petted the unicorn according to Rowena's instruction. "Will you please allow me to ride on you?" he then asked, and Moonlight lightly lowered her head as if to invite him to climb onto her back.

If he had still be frightened a minute before, the instant he sat on the unicorn, feeling her magic through the touch of her soft skin, he could only feel happiness. He carefully laid his hands around her head like he saw Ceridwen and Hermione do and looked at Rowena, who began to give him instructions.

A few minutes later, Harry was riding on Moonlight behind Ceridwen and Hermione in front of Rowena. They slowly crossed the still small village of Hogsmeade, before they made their way through the nearby countryside.

_'The area is beautiful,'_ Harry thought, as he concentrated on directing Moonlight to follow his friends. The thought _'She'd probably follow them even without my instructions'_ came to his mind, however, he did not feel comfortable enough on the unicorn to just try it out.

Harry thoroughly enjoyed himself. Only when he slid down from Moonlight for the picnic did he realise that his whole body ached again. _'Oh no,'_ he thought in annoyance, quickly putting up his concealment charm, so that no one noticed his predicament on their way back to the castle.

HP

In the morning, Hermione came into Harry's room thirty minutes before breakfast. "Harry, may I speak with you in private for a moment?" she asked and let himself sink onto a chair upon seeing him nod.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked in a soft voice.

Hermione sighed. "Nothing is really wrong," she admitted. "It's just that I should write to my parents every now and then. I didn't even tell them about the travel before we left. Would it be much hassle to travel to the future and post a letter?"

"Of course not," Harry replied, thoughtfully. "Do you know if there's any portrait near the owlery?" he then enquired.

"I've no idea," Hermione said, sighing again. "Maybe we should try to arrive during the night or speak with Ceridwen in the future if she can ask a house elf to place a painting near the owlery."

"All right, we can do that," Harry agreed, fiercely rubbing his forehead against the splitting headache that had been bothering him since the previous day. "Shall we go right away then?" he suggested.

"That would be wonderful," Hermione replied, smiling as she pulled the letter to her parents out of her robe pocket to show it to Harry.

Harry reached for her hand and whished themselves into the portrait of Helga's and Ceridwen's mother that was decorating the wall in his room. "We'll try to be back in a few minutes," he informed the witch, before he wished himself and Hermione to the portrait of Henry the Invincible, which was the portrait that he could recall as the nearest to the owlery. _'Just a few days before Easter, 1992,'_ he wished as they went.

"I hope we arrived at the right time," he said, when they left Henry's portrait, giving Hermione a questioning look.

"That's no problem," Hermione replied and absentmindedly cast a tempus charm at the wall that confirmed that they arrived at the intended time, before she asked in apparent concern, "Harry, are you feeling all right? Your hands are very hot."

"I'm fine," Harry replied, inwardly rolling his eyes. "Let's go before anyone sees us."

To his relief, Hermione dismissed the matter and followed him to the owlery, handing her letter to Hedwig. _'A pity that I can't take Hedwig with me,'_ Harry thought. _'Oh well, we're going to come to the future every now and then anyway.'_

However, when they were back in the past, arriving in a painting in the entrance hall right on time for breakfast, Hermione spoke up, again. "Harry, let me take you to Helga. You're burning up."

"No," Harry contradicted in a firm voice. "I must assist Salazar. The days until the end of the holidays are a test period for me, and depending on how content Salazar is with me, he'll accept me as student assistant or won't accept me."

"If you're ill, you can't brew, and Salazar will accept that," Hermione said, firmly.

"I'll go to see Helga tonight if it's not better then," Harry decided. "Please don't tell anyone."

HP

To Harry's surprise and annoyance at the same time, it did not take long for Salazar to notice that Harry was not his usual self. He put the potion that he was just brewing with Harry's assistance under a stasis charm, and a slender, cold hand found its way to the boy's forehead.

"Potter," the Potions master growled, "first of all, I heard myself that my wife told you to come to her if you were feeling unwell, and secondly, it's dangerous to work in the potions lab when being ill. Let me take you to my wife."

"I'm sorry sir," Harry replied, inwardly groaning at the prospect of having to walk all the way to the hospital room. "May I please just go to my own room and rest?"

Apparently, the professor understood the reason and accompanied Harry back to his own room. "I'm sorry for not being able to assist today, sir," Harry mumbled, when he separated from Salazar in front of his door.

"Nothing to be sorry about," Salazar replied curtly and went to fetch his wife.

_'I wouldn't have thought that Salazar is so observing. He was even friendly,'_ Harry mused as he let himself sink into bed, sighing in relief at the prospect of being able to rest.

HP

A few minutes later, Helga bustled into the room, shaking her head in apparent annoyance upon checking on Harry.

"Why didn't you tell me that you were unwell in the first place instead of aggravating your condition?" she asked, sounding upset.

"I wanted to assist Salazar," Harry moaned and explained about his test time in the potions lab.

"Nonsense," Helga replied in a no-nonsense voice. "If Salazar wants to assess if he'll be able to work together with you, you being ill for a few days has no influence on his decision at all. Moreover, he knew about your condition from the beginning."

"Yes Professor, I'm sorry," Harry said in a small voice.

"I don't think you have to worry at all by the way," Helga added and handed him two phials. "Fever reducer and pain relieving potion," she explained on Harry's questioning look.

"Looks different from those in my own time," Harry mumbled, feeling slightly drowsy from the effects of the potions. "Tastes different, too."

"Do you know the recipes of your time?" Helga asked in apparent excitement, causing Harry to smile.

He pointed over to the wardrobe. "We brought lots of books from the future. I just forgot about it. They're all for you and Salazar," he explained and was just about to get up and fetch the pile of books, when Helga pushed him back.

"Stay put and try to sleep," she instructed him. "I'll get the books."

Harry observed, smirking, how the healer stepped over to the wardrobe and opened it, staring at the huge pile of books in apparent disbelief. She moved the whole pile to the table, before she called a house elf. "Please fetch my husband," she instructed the elf.

During the next hour, Helga and Salazar busied themselves skimming the Potions and Healing books with apparent interest.

"This is just... incredible," Salazar finally spoke up, unobtrusively wiping a tear from his cheek as he turned to Harry, who had been quietly observing the professors with amusement.

"A potion for the wizard's flu," Helga added in apparent amazement. "If anyone catches it, we'll be able to cure them. Harry, we can't thank you enough for bringing these recipes here."

"I'm glad that they'll help," Harry replied, smiling.

"No," Salazar suddenly groaned. "We can't brew the potion for the wizard's flu, Helga. We don't have moan fern. Or is this a mistake and should be moon fern?" He cast Harry a questioning look.

"As far as I know, moan fern is different from moon fern," Harry replied, sighing. "But I can fetch moan fern from the future. Perhaps Madam Pomfrey or her house elf will know how I can get it."

"Harry," Helga spoke up, thoughtfully. "Is it very strenuous to portrait travel to the future?"

Harry chuckled, before he replied, "No Professor, not at all. I can go there at any time." He knew better than to inform the teachers about his and Hermione's earlier quick excursion to the future.

"Not before you're completely back to health," Helga contradicted in a firm voice. "Would you mind taking a letter for me to Madam Pomfrey then? I have some more questions about your illness."

"Of course, but I could just take you with me if you wish," Harry offered, causing the healer's eyes to widen in obvious excitement.

"Oh yes please, I'd like that," she agreed, smiling.

HP

To Harry's chagrin, it took three days before the healer allowed him out of bed and two more days, before she deemed him well enough to travel to the future together with her.

_'Sunday is a good day, as she won't allow me to brew today anyway, so I don't have to be so careful about the timing to come back,'_ Harry thought in relief. He held Helga's hand in a firm grip and wished themselves right into Helga's portrait in Madam Pomfrey's office on a day during the summer holidays in 1992, only to realise that this destination was not the best to choose when it was already too late.

_tbc..._

_Thanks to the kind readers who commented on the previous chapter!_


	9. Chapter 9

**The Potions Master's Bane**  
**by Healer Pomfrey**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

**_Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, time travel, sick!Harry. I am only writing for fun and how I want it.  
_**

**_IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT, DON'T COMPLAIN BUT STAY AWAY FROM MY STORIES!_**

* * *

After making sure that he had properly arrived with Helga in her older self's portrait, Harry glanced into the room, only to notice in shock that he looked straight into Professor McGonagall's face. _'Oh no,'_ he groaned, inwardly. However, it was already too late to do anything about the matter.

At the same moment, the Scottish lioness blurted out with a combination of apparent delight and surprise, "Harry!"

"Harry... and Helga, is that you?" Pomfrey added, smiling. "How nice of you to come and visit me in this time. Come out of the portrait and have some tea with us."

Harry pulled Helga out of the painting and turned to Pomfrey. "Hello Madam Pomfrey. Are you sure that none of the other professors come here?"

Pomfrey and McGonagall exchanged a quick look. "Not really," the healer finally admitted. "Minerva and Harry, why don't you go and spend some time in Harry's room, while I speak with Helga for a while?"

"Very well," McGonagall replied in a soft voice and followed Harry into his old room.

"Madam Pomfrey is still keeping the room for me," Harry spoke up, smiling, as he waved to Ceridwen in her portrait.

"Everyone is hoping that you and Ms. Granger will come back soon," McGonagall replied, taking the offered seat, before she asked, incredulously, "Are you able to time travel? That was Helga Hufflepuff, wasn't she?"

"Yes," Harry admitted, smiling. "I'm able to travel through portraits, no matter in which time they are. Ceridwen here," he pointed to the portrait that was still guarding his room, "suggested for me to visit her portrait in the past and take Hermione with me."

Seeing the deputy headmistress look at him with what seemed to be a combination of disbelief and amazement, he grinned. "Our first year is going to begin next week," he admitted and explained about his Potions tutoring by Salazar Slytherin.

"Do you have to begin Hogwarts anew from the beginning, although you already finished more than half of your first year in this time?" the professor asked, incredulously.

Harry grinned. "It was our own decision to do so, and it makes sense, because classes in the past seem to be very different from what they're now. For example, they have Healing and Latin as subjects, which we don't have here, and they have Runes and Arithmancy, which are only taught to the older students here. And then Sword fighting and Horse riding and such," he added, seeing that the teacher was listening with apparent interest.

"Did I understand it correctly that you left because of verbal abuse by Professor Snape?" McGonagall enquired, giving Harry a sharp look. "You're a hero here because of getting rid of Voldemort, and many people are asking where you are."

Harry let out a long sigh. "I don't want to be a hero," he replied, inwardly rolling his eyes. "I'm very interested in Potions, however, with Professor Snape holding a grudge against me just because of my resemblance to my father, there's no way for me to properly study Potions, especially beyond class level, in this time. In the past, I have the best teacher I could wish for. Everyone is very nice to us and accepts us, even though we don't really belong there," he added, thoughtfully.

"I see," McGonagall replied in understanding, before she asked, "Will you ever come back to this time? On a permanent basis I mean."

Harry shrugged. "Maybe we will, eventually," he replied, reluctantly. "However, not before I finish my NEWTs in Potions, so it'll be a few years in any case. Hermione will probably come to spend the summer holidays with her parents, however, I don't have anywhere to go, so I'll merely accompany her here and back or perhaps come to see Madam Pomfrey like today. I'm sorry, Professor," he added as an afterthought.

McGonagall shook her head. "No dear, there's nothing that you have to be sorry about. You might not know this, but I was a good friend of your mother and knew you well when you were a baby. I was looking forward to having you here at Hogwarts. However, I understand you well, and I am very sorry that I was unable to change your situation here for the better," she admitted in a soft voice.

"It's all right, Professor," Harry replied, smiling. "Right now, I'm very happy and so is Hermione I think. But we fully intend to come back to this time at some stage. We haven't forgotten about Neville, Blaise and Draco. They're great friends. We told them about our time travel before we left, and they know that we'll come back eventually."

"Whenever you come to this time, please visit me, too," McGonagall instructed him. "There's a portrait of Godric Gryffindor guarding the entrance to my private quarters. I suppose that you could travel right over there."

HP

Harry and the professor talked until Poppy and Helga joined them two hours later. Harry noticed that Helga's expression seemed much more relaxed than it was before her meeting with Pomfrey.

"Madam Pomfrey, is there a way to get a moan fern plant?" Harry asked the healer, who gave him a surprised look but ordered her house elf to bring a plant for Harry to take with him to the past.

In the meantime, Helga explained to her future colleague why they needed that specific ingredient.

"Oh of course," Pomfrey agreed in understanding and promised, "If you ever need anything, just send Harry here, and we'll get it for you."

Helga profusely thanked the older witch, before she said good-bye to the future professors, inviting them to visit her in the past at any time. "I'm sure Harry won't mind taking you to our time," she said, smiling, before turning to the boy. "Are you ready to leave?"

Harry nodded and, after making McGonagall promise to not tell anyone about his whereabouts, carefully gripped Helga's arm, pulling her into Ceridwen's portrait and straight on to the founders' time.

HP

Back in Helga's office, the healer informed Harry, "During the five days before the students come back, you'll not assist in the lab but enjoy your holidays. I know that you can't go horse riding, however, I'm sure that Hermione and Ceridwen won't mind spending a few days without the company of the unicorns."

Harry cast the professor a horrified look. "But..." He knew better than to voice his thoughts, seeing the healer's determined expression.

Apparently able to interpret his expression correctly, Helga said in a soothing voice, "I'll speak with my husband again. I need to inform the others about my conversation with Madam Pomfrey anyway. Salazar will call you and tell you how to proceed shortly."

"Yes Professor," Harry replied in a small voice, feeling extremely disappointed and worried about what was going to happen. _'This doesn't sound good, but I wonder why,'_ he thought.

"Now, it's already lunchtime, so let's go to the Great Hall," Helga suggested, and, even if he did not feel hungry at all, Harry knew that it was not a suggestion but an instruction and quietly followed the healer.

HP

During the next few days, Harry spent the time, which he would have preferred to assist in the potions lab, with Hermione and Ceridwen. The two girls seemed to be delighted to have Harry with them and, knowing that he could not walk far, they came up with ideas what to do within their own quarters, the library or other nearby places. To Harry's surprise, Ceridwen did not get tired developing new ideas of how to spend the day.

One day, she even went to Hogsmeade very early in the morning, only to return with a mischievous smile right on time for breakfast.

After the meal, she pulled her friends into her own room and showed them a book with the title _'Easy Charms for Fun_. "I borrowed this from Mrs. Slytherin," she said, grinning. "It contains a whole lot of prank charms. Let's try out some charms to prank the teachers during the school year."

Harry and Hermione exchanged an amused look. "You want to prank your sister and the others?" Hermione finally asked, incredulously.

"Wouldn't Salazar know these pranks if the book belongs to his mother?" Harry added, sceptically.

Ceridwen grinned. "I don't think so," she replied, chuckling. "I've heard his mother complain more than once that Salazar doesn't read anything but potions books," she then explained. "Mrs. Slytherin always taught Potions to the Hogsmeade children. That's why I know her well."

The three children spent the day planning charms pranks that they could unobtrusively cast at one or more of the adults during meal times.

"I hope we'll be able to sit together at the mealtimes at all," Hermione suddenly spoke up. "Who knows where the Sorting Hat is going to put us?"

"Yes, that's true," Ceridwen agreed, looking strangely sad. "On the other hand," she said in a lighter voice, "we can always meet in our own rooms after classes."

"Do you think they'll re-sort us?" Harry asked with interest. _'Maybe the Hat will properly sort me this time,' _he thought, feeling excited at the idea.

"Shall we go and ask Helga?" Ceridwen suggested, causing Hermione to look at Harry in concern.

"It's almost time for dinner anyway," Harry replied, and the trio slowly walked to Helga's office, wondering why the founder had not made a shortcut from her office to her private quarters.

HP

"I really have to do that," Helga replied, chuckling, when Harry voiced his question. "What brings you here?" she then asked, friendly.

"Do you think Sopho will sort Hermione and Harry again?" Ceridwen was the first to ask.

Helga remained thoughtful for an instant, before she replied, "I have no idea, but I can imagine that he'd like to re-sort you. Maybe he's not even aware of the fact that he already sorted you one thousand years into the future."

Seeing the three soon-to-be first years exchange worried looks, she added in a soothing voice, "You have your own rooms in our quarters anyway, so that you can meet there and study together, so I don't think that it really matters where you're going to be sorted."

"Yes, that's true," Hermione agreed, causing the others to nod their agreement.

HP

When Harry woke up in the morning, the thought _'Today, the students are going to arrive, but Salazar still hasn't told me if I'm going to become his student assistant'_ was at the forefront of his mind.

He slowly followed his friends to the Great Hall for breakfast, nodding in relief when Salazar instructed him to come to his office right after the meal.

"Yes sir," he replied, immediately, wondering how the Potions Master would have decided. He gave the older wizard a curious look, however, the professor's face remained void of any emotions.

To Harry's relief, the professor chose the way through their private quarters, which was much nearer than the far way through the dungeons. Harry felt strangely excited and wished that he was just on the way into Salazar's private lab than to the professor's office for a conversation.

"I will not make you my student assistant," Salazar came straight to the point. Ignoring Harry's horrified look, the professor continued, "My wife had a longer conversation with the future's healer about your illness, from which we received the information that you won't be able to attend four out of our eleven classes, so that the question arises if it makes sense for you to become a student in this time at all."

"But why, sir?" Harry asked in a very upset tone. "In my time, I was only exempt from Defence. All other classes I could attend."

"You won't be able to participate in Sword fighting, Defence, Horse riding and Magical creatures that involves regular walks into the forest," the professor drawled, giving Harry a bored look.

"Well, then I can as well return to the future," Harry blurted out, feeling not only terrified but also completely betrayed by the potions master. Feverishly trying to fight back the tears, he rose from his chair and stepped towards the door.

_tbc..._

_Thanks to the kind readers who commented on the previous chapter!_


	10. Chapter 10

**The Potions Master's Bane**  
**by Healer Pomfrey**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

**_Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, time travel, sick!Harry. I am only writing for fun and how I want it.  
_**

**_IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT, DON'T COMPLAIN BUT STAY AWAY FROM MY STORIES!_**

* * *

"Sit," Salazar ordered him, grimly. "You came here to study Potions, didn't you?"

"Yes sir," Harry replied in a small voice, letting himself sink onto the edge of the chair.

"I shall make you my apprentice, if that's what you want," the professor continued, grumpily. "You will still attend some classes, mainly those that are important for a potions master, like Healing, Herbology, Transfiguration and Charms."

"Thank you sir," Harry blurted out in absolute relief, while his mind was still trying to comprehend the teacher's reasoning.

"You will not be sorted into one of the houses," the professor explained. "Instead, I'm going to be your master. You'll attend classes together with the Slytherins and Hufflepuffs, and as soon as you have received your time table, we're going to fix your apprentice schedule around your classes. Your apprenticeship has a higher priority than your classes."

"Yes sir," Harry agreed to the Potions Master's words with a combination of excitement and happiness.

HP

Harry spent the whole day with Salazar in the potions lab, realising that the professor was even stricter than before if that was possible at all. The Potions Master did not give him a choice if he wanted to prepare ingredients or brew and which potion he wanted to brew. Instead, he let a recipe appear on a parchment and instructed the boy to begin with his work. When Harry diligently finished his potion, Salazar inspected the liquid and made Harry bottle it for use in the hospital room, before he assigned the next potion.

If Harry had thought in the morning that the day would be very long, because he could not wait for the Sorting to take place, he noticed in surprise that it in fact passed extremely fast and was astonished when Helga came to fetch Salazar and him for the welcoming feast.

"The students have already arrived, and the Sorting is going to commence soon. Even if Harry isn't going to be sorted, both of you should be present," she told her husband in a firm voice.

"All right Potter, clear your workspace," Salazar instructed him, and a minute later, Harry trailed behind the founders through their quarters.

"Excuse me, Professors," he spoke up, hesitantly, before entering the Great Hall. Seeing both teachers turn their heads towards him, questioningly, he asked, "Where am I supposed to sit?"

The founders exchanged a glance, and Helga replied, "As Salazar's apprentice, you could sit at the high table with us, but I believe that it would be more interesting for you to join the students. Sit at my house table tonight. I'll introduce you to the students, and perhaps Ceridwen is going to be placed there anyway," she added, smiling.

_'That would be fantastic,'_ Harry thought, returning the smile. He anxiously followed Helga to the Hufflepuff table, knowing that everyone would wonder who he was. However, seeing that the students greeted Helga with obvious enthusiasm, he felt slightly reassured and smiled, when the professor introduced him to the students as Salazar's apprentice.

HP

To his surprise, not only Ceridwen but also Hermione were sorted into Hufflepuff and soon took their seats on both sides of him.

"That's great, we have classes together," he whispered to the girls, feeling very happy at the idea.

HP

If Harry and Hermione had wondered if it would make sense to re-start Hogwarts from the beginning of their first year onwards, they should soon realise that it had been a good idea, as classes in the past turned out to be quite different from those one thousand years into the future.

Apart from a few exceptions, most of Harry's classes took place in the mornings, so that he could concentrate on his Potions studies during the afternoons. In the evenings, his presence in the Potions lab was neither required nor allowed anymore, and he spent his time with Hermione, Ceridwen and Gawain, another Hufflepuff first year, working on their homework.

At first, Salazar made Harry brew all the recipes from the first year Potions book, and after three weeks, Harry had already finished the first book. Salazar remained very strict and rarely ever commended Harry for his efforts. However, apparently realising that Harry felt very unsure about his own work, his friends did their best to reassure him.

"If your potions weren't absolutely perfect, Professor Slytherin would never accept them for use in the hospital wing," Hermione told him in a firm voice, causing Ceridwen to nod her agreement.

"Exactly," she added, smiling. "And believe me, if you did anything wrong, Salazar would immediately let you know. I'm certain about this. I've known my brother-in-law for many years."

"All right," Harry said in understanding, feeling very relieved at the girls' words.

Fortunately, he barely ever had problems with his illness. All teachers knew that he might arrive late for his classes and did not even do as much as comment on the matter, and apart from classes, he only had to move between the Potions lab, which was directly connected to Helga's and Salazar's private quarters, and the Great Hall, which was a mere two-minute walk from their rooms.

During the weekends, Helga insisted that Harry had to spend as much time out on the grounds as possible, stating that he was in dire need of fresh air. _'It's boring outside, especially when the girls go unicorn riding,'_ Harry thought, feeling very annoyed about Helga's instruction.

"I really don't like unicorn riding very much," Gawain admitted one day. "Could we perhaps go flying, Harry? You said once you were allowed to fly, didn't you?"

"That's a great idea," Harry immediately agreed, and from that time onwards, the two boys spent a great part of the weekends flying.

HP

On the day after the first years had taken their end of year tests, Salazar made Harry take his Potions OWL, which Harry found very easy, considering that the potions, which he usually had to brew, were already beyond OWL or even NEWT level.

"Did everything go well?" Hermione and Ceridwen asked, simultaneously, the instant Harry returned to his room.

"I hope so," he replied, smiling.

"Harry," Hermione spoke up, thoughtfully. "When everyone is going to go home the day after tomorrow, would you perhaps be so nice to take me to the future so that I can spend the summer holidays with my parents?"

"Of course," Harry promised. "How are we going to get to your parents' home though? They surely won't have a magical painting, do they?"

"No," Hermione replied, sighing. "I thought that perhaps I could just ask Professor McGonagall if I could use the fireplace to travel home. My parents' fireplace is connected to the floo network."

"Oh all right," Harry agreed. "That's good."

"Mione," Ceridwen suddenly joined the conversation. "Let's ask Helga for some kind of painting that you can take with you and keep in your own room at your home. That way, Harry can directly travel there to fetch you back at the end of the holidays."

The two time travellers agreed immediately, and the small group made their way to the hospital room to see the founder.

HP

Helga looked at the students in apparent amusement, before she handed them a painting of the four founders, in which Helga and Rowena were pointing their wands at their husbands, making them transform into bears and back.

"May I take this with me?" Hermione asked, seemingly excited, causing everyone to laugh, as she continued, "My parents will be so amazed to see it. I can't wait for their reaction."

HP

Harry took Hermione straight to Godric's portrait that was guarding Professor McGonagall's quarters, and the deputy headmistress agreed immediately to let Hermione use her fireplace.

"All right, Mione. I'll come back on the thirty-first of August," Harry promised, trying not to flinch back, when the girl pulled him into a fierce hug.

"Thank you so much Harry and take care of yourself," Hermione replied, thanking the professor profusely, before she stepped into the fireplace.

Smiling, McGonagall turned to Harry and invited him to have tea together with her. Knowing that it did not matter when he returned to the past, provided that he arrived at the right time to prevent Ceridwen from worrying about him, Harry agreed and told the professor everything about the time of the founders that came into his mind.

"Harry," the professor spoke up after hours of listening to Harry's explanations. "Would you perhaps ask the founders if it was all right if I accompanied you and visited them once during the holidays?"

Harry returned an amused look. "Professor, the founders will be delighted to have you there," he then replied. "They'll ask you many things about the future. Why don't you come with me right away?"

McGonagall let out a long sigh. "I'd love to do so," she finally admitted. "However, I still need to finish some work before I'd be able to leave."

"I could just go a week to the future," Harry suggested, "or two weeks."

"Wouldn't that be too difficult or strenuous for you, Harry?" the teacher enquired, giving him a concerned look.

"Not at all, Professor," Harry reassured the old witch.

Finally, they agreed that Harry should travel to the fifteenth of July to fetch the professor, and after quickly visiting Ceridwen and finally the founders in their respective paintings, Harry returned to the Gryffindor head's private quarters. _'What a strange feeling,'_ he thought. _'For me, only two minutes passed, while it's a whole week for McGonagall.'_ To his relief, the professor was ready to leave right away, and Harry quickly returned to the past, glad that he already had much experience travelling with a passenger.

HP

On the one hand, Harry felt happy to have the professor in what he already began to think of his time, however, on the other hand, Salazar had apparently decided that Harry was adept enough at potions to involve him in his personal research, so that he did not have much time for anything else.

"During the following school year, you're going to study for your NEWT, which you're going to take at the end of the school year," the Potions Master informed him. "During the next two months, I'd like to intensify my research, and I wish you to assist."

The two young wizards spent as much time in the potions lab as they could and only left their favourite room, when Helga came to drag them away for mealtimes. Sometimes, they even escaped after dinner, when everyone used to gather in Salazar's and Helga's quarters for the evenings. However, they were rewarded greatly, when they tried out a series of test potions on werewolves during the August full moon and one of them spent the night without transforming into a werewolf.

"Would it be possible to receive one dose of the potion for our new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor?" McGonagall asked in clear excitement after Salazar told everyone the good news.

"It's a huge success," Salazar informed her. "However, we'll only know if it's a permanent cure when he doesn't transform next month either. If it works out, Harry will bring a dose to the future," he promised, causing Harry to inwardly grin.

_'For once, he's too excited to be grumpy,'_ he thought in amusement.

_tbc..._

_Thanks to the kind readers who commented on the previous chapter!_


	11. Chapter 11

**The Potions Master's Bane**  
**by Healer Pomfrey**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

**_Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, time travel, sick!Harry. I am only writing for fun and how I want it.  
_**

**_IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT, DON'T COMPLAIN BUT STAY AWAY FROM MY STORIES!_**

* * *

"Professor Slytherin," Harry spoke up in a small voice, turning to his mentor. "Would it perhaps be possible to give one dose to Professor McGonagall in any case? Maybe it's a permanent cure, and if not, it won't harm the werewolf anyway."

"I believe that's a good idea," Helga said, warmly. "Especially since my spells didn't show any traces of lycanthropy anymore. So the chances that it's a permanent cure should be quite high."

HP

Fortunately, Salazar agreed to Harry's suggestion, and on the twentieth of August, Harry and McGonagall travelled back to the future with one phial of the wolvescure potion tucked in the professor's robe pocket.

"Harry," the professor spoke up, pensively, when they reached her private rooms. "Thank you so very much for taking me with you to the past. I loved getting to know the founders and studying with them. You did the very right thing to become Salazar's apprentice."

"Thank you, Professor," Harry replied, smiling. "I think I did the right thing, and I'm very happy in the time of the founders. Nevertheless, both Hermione and I intend to come back here eventually."

"Harry, would you mind telling my colleagues the truth?" McGonagall asked, before she let out a sigh and explained, "How else would I be able to explain to Professors Dumbledore and Snape where I obtained the wolvescure potion? A potion for lycanthropy is something that Potions Masters have been trying to achieve over centuries, and the existence of this potion is likely to cause a huge uproar in the magical world of this time."

_'No!'_ Harry's mind screamed. However, he grudgingly agreed and, when the professor told him that she was going to head to the headmaster's office and call Professors Lupin and Snape as well as Madam Pomfrey, Harry resolved to observe the scene from one of the portraits. _'I can't wait to see Snape's expression, when he hears that I'm Salazar's apprentice,'_ he thought, inwardly chuckling in anticipation.

Suddenly, McGonagall interrupted his musings by asking, "Will you accompany me, Harry? I'm sure that Professor Lupin would love to see you, not only because of the wolvescure but also because he was a good friend of your parents."

"All right," Harry replied, thinking, _'Neither Snape nor the headmaster can do anything to me, as I can easily hop into Godric's portrait at any time.'_

HP

Harry slowly trailed behind the professor to the headmaster's office, already regretting on the way that he had not travelled through portraits. However, he knew better than to voice his thoughts, and the professor was much too excited to notice his predicament. By the time they reached the headmaster's office, Harry felt very unwell for the first time in a year and was just glad to be able to sit down.

"Minerva and Harry," Dumbledore greeted them in apparent surprise, before he remembered to offer them a lemon drop, which they both declined.

"Albus," the Gryffindor head spoke up in obvious excitement. "Would you mind calling Remus, Severus and Poppy here please. We have an announcement to make."

"Sure," the headmaster agreed, casting them a curious look, before he leaned into the fireplace.

A few minutes later, the professors arrived, and after Poppy greeted Harry, enthusiastically, he was introduced to Professor Lupin.

Harry liked the man immediately, which seemed to be a mutual feeling, as the professor told him to just call him by his given name and expressed how happy he was to finally meet the son of his best friends.

Finally, McGonagall began to explain the reason for their impromptu meeting. "As you know, Harry is able to portrait travel." Seeing the headmaster nod, she continued, "He's even able to time travel by this means, and I've spent the summer together with Harry in the time of the founders of Hogwarts, where Harry has become Salazar Slytherin's apprentice."

"Is that so?" Dumbledore asked Harry in apparent surprise.

"Yes sir," Harry replied, simply, noticing from the corner of his eye that Snape paled visibly. "Since Professor Snape hated me too much to teach me, I chose another Potions Master." _'A much better one,'_ he added just for himself.

"Harry has already taken his Potions OWL after his first Hogwarts year, and more importantly," McGonagall continued with apparent enthusiasm, "he and Professor Slytherin managed to develop the wolvescure potion, a cure for lycanthropy."

"Well, we're not sure yet if it only has to be taken once or every month," Harry added. Ignoring Snape's snort, he continued in a firm voice, "But we believe that it should be a permanent cure, as the lycanthropy didn't show up anymore on Professor Hufflepuff's spell."

"Very likely," Snape sneered. "Potter, many Potions Masters, whose expertise was far beyond that of a first year, have tried in vain to find a cure for lycanthropy, and..."

"Severus, behave yourself," McGonagall interrupted him, icily. "Professor Slytherin is the best Potions Master of all times, and since Harry and Salazar invented the potion together..." She slowly trailed off, shaking her head in apparent annoyance, before she mumbled something like, "Better stayed in the past."

"I fully agree," Pomfrey added. "I know Professor Hufflepuff personally, as Harry was so kind as to bring her to me last year, and if she declares a werewolf cured from lycanthropy, it is definitely not a joke. Remus, I strongly suggest that you try out the potion."

Observing from the corner of his eye how the Potions Master fumed, Harry heard Professor Lupin say, "Of course I will take the potion. I fully trust Harry and Minerva."

"Harry," Pomfrey spoke up, pensively, "Do you know of any side effects of the potion?"

Harry scrunched his face in thought. "The werewolf who took the potion a week ago did not have any side effects, at least not during the first week. The ingredients," he continued, thoughtfully, "are all harmless and, as far as I know, don't interact with each other in a negative way." Ignoring Snape's snort, Harry asked the healer, "Madam Pomfrey, would you be willing to administer the potion, or should I fetch Professor Slytherin?"

The healer smiled at the boy, of whom she was very fond. "Of course it'll be my pleasure to administer the potion. Do you have it here?"

McGonagall handed over the phial, and Pomfrey quickly waved her wand over the werewolf casting a diagnostic spell. "Are you ready, Remus?" she then asked, seemingly excited.

While the Potions Master shook his head in apparent annoyance, Remus Lupin reached out for the small phial and gulped down the light pink liquid, smiling as he handed the empty phial back.

"The lycanthropy doesn't show up anymore," Pomfrey announced after another wave of her wand.

"Just to be sure, you should still spend the next two nights of the full moon in the Shrieking Shack," the headmaster said in a firm voice, only to add, "Congratulations Remus."

Harry smiled, when the cured werewolf pulled him into a light hug and profusely thanked him. "You're very welcome, sir. I'm glad that we could cure you, and I hope very much that it's permanent. Otherwise, I'll supply you with the permanent potion as soon as possible," he replied, feeling uncomfortable and happy at the same time.

"Harry, do you have the recipe?" Dumbledore suddenly enquired. "If the Ministry of Magic gets to know that Professor Lupin has been cured, they'll want us to cure all the werewolves."

Harry glanced at Snape, who was wearing an indifferent expression, before he replied, calmly. "No sir, since Professor Snape doesn't trust our potion and I don't trust anyone else in this time to proficiently brew it, I can't give it to you. Hermione and I intend to return to this time after finishing Hogwarts or at least our OWLs. By then, I'll brew as many batches of the wolvescure as are needed to cure all werewolves."

"But Harry," the headmaster spoke again, glancing at his Potions Master.

"No sir, I'm sorry, sir," Harry replied quickly, inwardly sighing in relief, when the healer spoke up on his behalf.

"Albus, leave Harry in peace," she said, grimly, glaring at her colleagues. "It's Severus' and your fault that he was not able to receive the education he wanted here in this time and had to time travel one thousand years into the past in order to study Potions. If and when the werewolves will be cured in this time is fully up to the inventors of the potion."

"Exactly," McGonagall added in a firm voice.

Seeing the Potions Master turn his head towards him, Harry spontaneously decided to leave and jumped into Godric's portrait, where he hid behind the founder and listened to the following conversation in amusement. _'Such a pity, Snape,'_ he thought, grinning, as he readied himself to travel to the founders' painting in Hermione's room to arrive at the thirty-first of August.

HP

"You managed to invent a cure for lycanthropy?" Hermione repeated in disbelief. "But that's just amazing. Oh and how pissed off Snape must have been. Too bad I wasn't able to watch the scene. Are you all right, Harry?" she suddenly interrupted herself. "You don't look good."

"I'll be fine," Harry confirmed, tiredly. "It only walked too far and too fast. Now are you ready to leave for our second year?"

"Of course," his best friend replied, eagerly.

HP

Harry's second year passed quietly. The wolvescure potion turned out to be a permanent cure, and besides studying for the NEWT and brewing potions for the hospital room, Harry became very busy brewing many batches of the wolvescure together with Salazar. By the time he had to take his Potions NEWT at the end of the school year, the Ministry of Magic confirmed that all werewolves had been cured and awarded Harry and Salazar the Order of Merlin first class for their valuable invention of the cure.

_'Snape will be so jealous if he gets to know this,'_ Harry thought, feeling highly amused at the fact, although he did not care about the award at all. He had to admit that it was convenient though to have received a huge amount of money with the award, since neither Hermione nor he owned any money in this time. It was not as if they needed anything, since the founders saw to all their needs. Nevertheless, it was a good feeling - even if it should take until the beginning of their sixth Hogwarts year, before he was going to do as much as touch the money.

HP

During the three years, while Harry studied for his Potions Mastery, Salazar kept him even busier than before. However, Harry thoroughly enjoyed himself and during the week after finishing his OWLs in Transfiguration, Charms, Herbology and Healing, passed his Potions Mastery with the best possible grade.

_'What am I going to do now?'_ he wondered. _'Of course I still have to take the NEWTs in my other four subjects, but is that a full-time job?'_ During the holidays, he intensely discussed the matter with Ceridwen, who was always there to listen and usually had the best ideas.

It was towards the end of the holidays, when the girl finally had a brilliant idea. "I know what we can do, Harry," she spoke up, smiling. "First of all, during the time until the NEWTs, we should try to become Animagi. Especially for you it might be very valuable if you can transform, for example, into a phoenix like Godric, so that you can get around better than if you walk."

"That's a fantastic idea," Harry had to admit. In fact, he had even thought about that himself during his first weeks at Hogwarts. However, whilst being busy during his apprenticeship, the matter had completely slipped his mind.

"As to what to do after the NEWTs, I know something, which we could commence here, and you could continue in the future if you wanted," Ceridwen continued, smirking. "But I think I'm going to tell you about it when Hermione and Gawain come back from the holidays."

As much as Harry begged his friend, the girl did not let him in on her plan. However, unbeknownst to Harry, she spoke with the four founders to receive their approval in advance.

_tbc..._

_Thank you for your kind comments!_


	12. Chapter 12

**The Potions Master's Bane**  
**by Healer Pomfrey**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

**_Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, time travel, sick!Harry. I am only writing for fun and how I want it.  
_**

**_IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT, DON'T COMPLAIN BUT STAY AWAY FROM MY STORIES!_**

* * *

Even if Harry's apprenticeship had ended with the Potions Master's exam, he spent the summer holidays working in the lab together with Salazar. Seeing that the founder seemed deeply engrossed in some kind of research, Harry automatically brewed the complete stock for the hospital room.

"I'm finished with the stock for Helga," he informed his mentor one day. "Is there anything else that I could help with?"

Salazar gave him an amused look. "You know that you didn't have to do that, don't you?"

Harry grinned. "Yes sir," he replied, "but I loved to do so, and I had time anyway. I can still assist during the school year if you don't mind."

"I'm trying to find a cure for your muscle problem," Salazar explained, slowly. "It's tough though, very tough. But you can assist if you wish."

"Of course sir, thank you very much," Harry replied, feeling very grateful towards his mentor. _'He's trying to find a cure just to help me,'_ he thought with a combination of disbelief and amazement.

HP

Finally, it was time for Harry to fetch Hermione from the future, and Harry toyed with the thought of travelling to an earlier time with the intention to spend some time at Diagon Alley. _'I could look for some future books, and I'd also like to buy something for Hermione,'_ he thought. _'I wonder if I could ask her to become my girlfriend. We're both of age in the magical world now, so no one should have a problem with it.'_ For a moment, he pondered if he should ask Ceridwen for an advice, since the girl always had an answer to his questions, however, he decided against it and just left for Hogwarts in the future, arriving early in the morning of the thirty-first of August. He spent a little while chatting with Professor McGonagall, knowing that he could use her fireplace to get to the magical shopping street.

He bought around fifty books from all different sections at Flourish &amp; Blotts, gratefully accepting that the owner cast a shrinking charm on the large pile, before he went for a stroll though Diagon Alley.

Finally, something caught his eye. It was in a small jeweller shop in a side street to the main shopping street, and without further thinking, Harry entered the shop.

"Excuse me, ma'am," he addressed the lady in the shop. "I'd like to have a pair of the friendship rings please."

"Which ones?" the old witch asked, kindly, and showed him a box full with all kind of friendship rings. "These are the ones with communication abilities," she informed him, pointing to the left side, before she explained, "I can add additional charms to all rings."

Harry spent a lot of time in the small shop, where he fortunately was the only costumer, before he decided on golden rings that were decorated with various kinds of magical animals. _'These are beautiful,'_ he thought. _'I hope Hermione will like them.'_ He asked the shopkeeper to add all possible kinds of safety and protection charms to the rings and paid, feeling very happy with his purchase.

HP

When he arrived at the painting in Hermione's room, punctually at three o'clock in the afternoon like always, Hermione was already waiting for him.

"Harry," she blurted out, smiling. "I'm glad you're here. As great as the holidays were, I missed you."

"I missed you too," Harry replied, returning the smile. He hesitantly reached into his robe pocket, pulling out the small box, which he had just bought.

"Hermione, would you perhaps like to become my girlfriend?" he asked in a small voice, inwardly groaning when he felt himself blush.

"I'd love to become your girlfriend, Harry," Hermione replied, immediately.

"Show me your finger," Harry said, happily, and carefully adjusted the smaller ring to her ring finger, before he proceeded to wear his own. "These are friendship rings, and we can use them to communicate with each other like with telepathy," he explained, smiling.

"Thank you so much, Harry. It's absolutely beautiful," Hermione replied, looking at her ring in apparent delight. "Would you mind going downstairs to show it to my parents for a moment?" she then asked. "They'd be happy to see you."

HP

It was already dinner time, when the two soon-to-be sixth years left, glad that the travel took less than a minute. While Hermione brought her luggage into her room, Harry placed the charmed pile of books onto the table in the living room, resolving to show his books to the professors right after dinner.

As Harry had expected, all four founders were delighted upon seeing the books, as were Hermione and Ceridwen.

"Harry, are you that good at Legilimency?" Ceridwen suddenly blurted out, causing Harry to stare at her in surprise.

"I'm not good at Legilimency at all," he replied, glancing unsurely at Salazar, who had tried over years to teach him the fine arts of Legilimency and Occlumency with minor success. "Why do you ask?" he queried, quirking an eyebrow.

Ceridwen chuckled. "Oh well, I wanted to wait for Gawain before telling you my idea, but I'll inform you now." Seeing that everyone stared at her in clear expectation, she explained, "I think we should open a magical research centre for research in all different subjects. For example, after the NEWTs, I'd like to become a healer, but Helga is already the healer here and mum in Hogsmeade. In the research centre, I could do research about new healing methods and such. Harry, for example, could research new potions."

"That's absolutely brilliant," Hermione blurted out.

"You need to build the research centre here on the Hogwarts grounds and donate the building to Hogwarts," Godric spoke up. "That way, Hogwarts will be able to provide funds for you, and you'll also be able to receive support, especially financial support, from the Ministry of Magic."

After two more hours of discussing the new research centre, they decided on the name "Hogwarts Magical Research Centre" with the founders Hermione Granger, Harry Potter, Ceridwen Hufflepuff and Gawain Longhain, and Rowena promised to cast a charm on it, so that it was clear to everyone that from summer 1997 onwards, Hermione Granger and Harry Potter would be the sole owners.

"I suggest placing a similar charm at Hogwarts," Godric said, thoughtfully.

During the same evening, the four founders set up and signed a parchment declaring that from summer 1997 onwards, Harry Potter as the first heir of all four founders would be the sole owner of Hogwarts and as such able to overwrite the headmaster's and teachers' decisions.

"Harry, you'll also be able to hire or fire teachers as well as the headmaster," Godric informed the boy, who stared at the parchment in disbelief.

"Excuse me, but why 1997?" Harry asked in confusion. "If we return to the year after our supposed to be NEWTs, it would be 1998."

Hermione smiled. "Maybe Harry, it would be better if we spent the last two years before the NEWTs in the future in order to do more efficient research."

"You'll be able to take your NEWTs here next year," Godric threw in. "Maybe Hermione is right, and you should then go and attend your seventh year in the future. You won't even have to bother taking your NEWTs again if you pass them here in this time."

_'I'm not going to take my NEWTs again in the future,'_ Harry mused. _'I'm going to do Potions research, and for that, I can just read all the books that are available in the future. I'm not going to attend any class of Snape.'_

"Do not misunderstand us," Helga spoke up. "No one here wants you to leave us, on the contrary. We hope that you'll come back and spend all your holidays with us. You can even remain here and just travel to the future to go to work every day, or you can just remain here and work here together with Ceridwen and perhaps Gawain."

"We'll come back for the holidays," Hermione promised, smiling. "But it'll be more interesting for us to do research on a more advanced basis. So when and how are we going to build the research centre?"

_'Typically Hermione,'_ Harry thought in amusement, while he listened absentmindedly, when Ceridwen informed them about the plan, on which she had already decided together with Godric and Salazar.

HP

Whilst Harry and Hermione eagerly studied in order to take the NEWTs in the past after finishing their sixth year, they spent much time building the new research centre together with Ceridwen, Gawain and the founders. At the beginning of December, the new building was finished.

"Hermione, shall we go to the future during the holidays and ask Draco, Neville and Blaise if they'd be interested to work in our research centre?" Harry asked one evening, leaving his girlfriend very pensive.

"Harry, I'm not sure," the girl replied, uncertainly. "We don't know who'll be working in the centre in one thousand years. Maybe it'll be better to go there and check the whole situation before doing anything."

"Well, if anything is not all right for you, just come back here," Ceridwen said, pleasantly, causing Gawain to nod his agreement.

HP

Harry and Hermione decided to use the Christmas holidays to travel to the future and visit the research centre in the future to see if everything was all right and was matching their expectations.

When the founders got to know about their plan, they immediately changed the charms to make Harry and Hermione the centre's owners from 24 December, 1997 onwards, so that they would not have any problems whatever changes they wanted to make.

"Oh no," Harry suddenly blurted out, giving the founders a pleading look. "I'm sorry, but is there any way to charm the building in a way that Severus Snape will never be able to get any position at the centre? I wouldn't want to go there and see that he is working there."

"I've already charmed it that way," Salazar replied in his usual grumpy way. "You told me enough about him to know that you wouldn't want him as your colleague."

"Thank you so much, Professor," Harry replied, letting out a relieved sigh.

"I already changed the information concerning Hogwarts," Godric informed Harry. "From the same date onwards, you and your children are going to be the sole owners. Since the two of you belong to her founders now, considering that you built the research centre, you should be able to communicate with Hogwarts by just putting your hand against the wall. Just try it out. Hogwarts knows you already."

_'We'll try it out, once we're in the future,'_ Harry thought to Hermione through the friendship ring, seeing his girlfriend unobtrusively nod and smile.

"Nevertheless, it's a bit unsettling," Hermione said to Harry in the morning before they intended to leave. "We don't know anyone there, and our former classmates are all still seventh years. Maybe we should go and see Professor McGonagall and ask her if she knows the centre and can introduce us."

"Do you think they already know about it?" Harry asked, sceptically. "When we last went to the future, no one said anything about it. Will they get to know at all, or will only the people know who're going to be born after us?"

Hermione remained pensive for a moment, before she replied, "This is the first time we travel to the future after building the centre. Maybe only when we arrive in the future, everyone will get to know about it. Sorry, but I don't have a clue."

"Let's go and ask McGonagall then," Harry decided. He gently held his girlfriend's arm in a firm grip and hopped into the nearby painting, wishing them to the morning of Christmas Eve, 1997.

An instant later, they found themselves in Godric's portrait in front of Professor McGonagall's private quarters. Even if Harry had already visited the professor on multiple occasions, he felt strangely uncertain to disturb the teacher on Christmas Eve, especially since it was not just a social visit but almost for the first time had a reason, which was very important for him and his near future.

_tbc..._

_Thank you for your kind comments!_


	13. Chapter 13

**The Potions Master's Bane**  
**by Healer Pomfrey**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

**_Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, time travel, sick!Harry. I am only writing for fun and how I want it.  
_**

**_IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT, DON'T COMPLAIN BUT STAY AWAY FROM MY STORIES!_**

* * *

"Harry and Hermione," McGonagall greeted them as friendly as always and invited them for tea.

"Professor, do you know the Hogwarts Magical Research Centre in this time?" Hermione came straight to the point.

The professor's expression turned thoughtful, before she began massaging her temples as if to fight a headache.

"This is strange," she finally spoke up. "Only now I got to know about the centre, but at the same time I know that it has always been there. I just didn't notice it before." She remained pensive for a moment, before she added, "Harry, you're the owner of Hogwarts, is that right?"

Hermione and Harry nodded and explained about their project as well as the charms that the founders had placed on the centre as well as on Hogwarts.

McGonagall glanced at her wrist watch. "Let me ask my colleagues," she finally said. "We, the four heads of the houses and Poppy, are going to have breakfast in the headmaster's office commencing in thirty minutes. I'll ask them what they know about the centre." She smirked, as she continued, "I trust that you'll be able to watch our conversation."

"I'd like that if you don't mind, Professor," Harry replied, eagerly.

"There's not exactly a portrait in which we can hide," Hermione spoke up, sceptically, causing Harry to grin.

"I brought the invisibility cloak, and I'm sure Godric won't mind having us in his portrait for a while," he reassured his girlfriend.

HP

The two time-travellers observed breakfast in the headmaster's office with interest, once McGonagall asked her colleagues about the Hogwarts Magical Research Centre.

Whilst most of her colleagues only just now remembered the centre, the headmaster and the Potions professor knew about it.

"I know about the centre because my grandfather and my mother worked there," Snape spoke up, pensively. "I also applied for the Potions position, however, was not able to get the job. I believe they didn't even have a Potions Master there after my mother."

Dumbledore remained pensive for a moment, before he began to explain, "The Hogwarts Magical Research Centre was founded in the time of the founders of Hogwarts, however, not by the four founders, but by Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ceridwen Hufflepuff and Gawain Longhain. One of my classmates worked there and gained the Order of Merlin first class for a newly detected plant about one hundred years ago. As from this day onwards - and this might be the reason why we suddenly remember the building - Harry Potter and Hermione Granger are the owners of the centre."

"As from today, Harry Potter is also the rightful owner of Hogwarts," McGonagall spoke up, apparently realising that her older colleague was not inclined to speak about the matter.

"Why always Potter?" Snape blurted out, spatting the name. "Does he own the whole world?"

"Now now, Severus," the headmaster admonished him lightly. "Harry Potter is known as one of the best Potions Masters Britain has ever seen, together with Salazar Slytherin. As to why Harry is the owner of the centre is obvious, because he is one of the founders. Unbeknownst to many, he is the first heir of all founders of Hogwarts, which is probably the reason why he and his descendants are the owners of this school."

"Severus, this all is your fault," Pomfrey threw in, sternly. "It was you who drove Harry over the edge and made him travel to the time of the founders to study. He didn't have any ambitions to become the owner of Hogwarts or anything like that. He merely wanted to study Potions, which wasn't possible for him here because of verbal abuse by you."

"Exactly," McGonagall agreed. "During these years, I have kept contact to Harry and met him whenever he came to the future. He has become a very fine young man, even after what he achieved during the last few years."

"Twinkle," Dumbledore called his personal house-elf. "Please bring me a chocolate frog card of Harry Potter."

Bowing deeply, the elf popped away, only to return an instant later with the requested item.

_'Harry Potter,'_ the headmaster read aloud.

_'One of the founders of the Hogwarts Magical Research Centre, apprentice of Salazar Slytherin, received the Order of Merlin 1st class twice for potions inventions together with Slytherin and once for vanquishing Tom Riddle AKA Lord Voldemort, able to time-travel, Potions Master and owner of the Hogwarts Magical Research Centre from 1997, owner of Hogwarts from 1997, fiancé of Hermione Granger, water phoenix Animagus.'_

_'I managed the Animagus transformation?'_ Harry thought in surprise. _'Oh well, maybe during our last six months in the past I will. I neither know anything about a second Order of Merlin together with Salazar. How strange. I wonder why. Maybe Salazar and I will manage to develop a cure for my own problem.'_

He was brought back to reality when the teachers ended their breakfast and Hermione gripped his arm, showing him that she was ready to leave Godric's portrait.

After a last glance at the Potions Master's clearly shocked expression, Harry wished Hermione and him to Ceridwen's portrait in his old room.

"That was impressive," Hermione blurted out. "Your chocolate frog card. I'm so proud of you."

Rolling his eyes in annoyance, Harry replied, "Well, I wonder when I'm going to do all these things."

"You must already have done them in the past," Hermione said matter-of-factly. "Maybe we should just return there now and finish our NEWTs, before exploring the centre in this time." She let out a long sigh, before adding, "It's very unsettling. Usually, if there was anything that we didn't know, we could just ask a teacher. However, no one else but us knows anything about this time-travel thing, and even if the teachers in the past or also McGonagall and Pomfrey can give us advice, they don't know more than us."

"Yes, that's true," Harry fully agreed. "I feel very uncertain. However, with you at my side, I know that it won't be a problem. We'll somehow manage. Oh well, to when shall we return? Christmas Eve or to the end of the holidays?"

"Could we, perhaps, just pop over to my home and wish my parents a happy Christmas?" Hermione suddenly asked.

In the end, the young couple spent Christmas at the Grangers' and only returned to the past on the day before the students were going to come back.

HP

"Harry," Hermione spoke up when they arrived in Harry's room, "forget the thing about the Animagus transformation and the second Order of Merlin in this time. If it happens, it's good, otherwise, the information on the chocolate frog card will just change. It doesn't matter if you have received the Order of Merlin twice or three times, and you don't have any obligations."

"That's true," Harry replied, chuckling, feeling very much consoled at his girlfriend's words. _'She didn't say anything about the fact that she was mentioned as my fiancée, not as my girlfriend though,'_ he realised, wondering if she might have overheard the point. _'Probably not,'_ he thought. _'Hermione doesn't overhear things. So I'll have to remedy this during the next six months.'_

HP

If Harry had hoped that Salazar and he would be able to find a remedy for his muscle disease, he was sadly mistaken. It was on a Saturday morning in May that the Minister of Magic contacted Salazar asking him and Harry for their help.

Harry looked up in surprise, when Salazar suddenly entered his own room, where he was just practising the Animagus transformation with Hermione, Ceridwen and Gawain.

"Potter, come with me," the professor merely said, making Harry follow him into his private lab. "The Minister of Magic just contacted me. Several people at the Ministry as well as in Diagon Alley have taken ill with the griffin pox, which is a highly contagious and so far incurable disease. Unfortunately, the death rate lies at about eighty percent." He told the younger Potions Master as much as he knew about the illness, before he queried, "Do you know if there's a cure for the griffin pox in the future?"

"No sir," Harry replied in a firm voice. "I'm sure because there aren't any griffins anymore in the future."

Salazar let out a long sigh, before he asked, "Will you help to develop a cure?"

Harry smiled. "Of course sir," he replied, eagerly. "I'm ready. Maybe we should also try to invent a vaccination or a preventive potion for those who haven't caught it yet."

Although Harry and Severus spent day and night in the lab during the following weeks and only left for a few hours, when Helga, Hermione or Ceridwen came to drag one or the other away, they could not prevent a mass outbreak of the griffin pox that even spread to Hogwarts.

On the day when Salazar had told him about the illness and they began their research, Harry had spoken with Hermione and asked her to allow him to take her to the future until the threat was gone. However, Hermione had vehemently refused to leave his side and continued to attend classes with everyone else.

Harry was devastated when Hermione came down with the illness and was neither surprised nor did he care when he realised that he had caught it as well a few days later. He merely cast concealment charms on himself to prevent everyone else from noticing that he was ill and trying to prevent him from working on the cure.

It was six weeks after Harry had first heard about the disease that he woke up realising that he wouldn't be able to hide his illness from the others any longer. _'I won't even be able to drag myself to the lab,'_ he thought, horrified, just when Salazar stormed into his room.

"We did it," the older Potions Master informed him in barely ever seen excitement. "Rat number 2's condition has improved overnight."

"Thank Merlin," Harry whispered, trying in vain to force a smile onto his face.

It was probably due to his lack of reaction that Salazar got a close look at the younger Potions Master, only now realising just how ill he was. "I'll fetch Helga," he said and hurried away.

During the following days, Harry barely noticed his surroundings. Sometimes, he had the impression to hear Helga's, Hermione's and Ceridwen's voices, he even understood that Hermione was cured, however, the world around him was too foggy to actively communicate with anyone. However, all of a sudden, he could hear Hermione think to him over the friendship ring, and her words clearly penetrated his foggy mind.

'Harry,' she thought, over and over, 'try to transform into your phoenix form. You can do it. You must do it to survive. Harry, think of your water phoenix form and transform. Please do it for me. I love you.'

Summoning as much magic as he could, Harry wished himself into his phoenix form, only knowing that he succeeded, when his body erupted in pain. He felt slightly better, however, still very ill. _'Why don't they give me the cure? Or didn't it work at all?_' he wondered.

Unfortunately, no one was able to understand him when he repeated the question aloud. However, Helga fetched Godric, and the founder explained that for everyone else the cure had worked, just not for Harry, probably because he had aggravated his condition so much by brewing potions day and night in spite of being ill.

"You're probably going to go through an icing day, like Fawkes sometimes has his burning day," Godric told him.

#I just hope it'll be quick,# Harry replied, feeling utterly miserable, even if better than in his human form.

However, two days later, during which Hermione did not leave his side, he was still waiting for the icing day.

_'I want to be able to communicate with Mione,'_ he thought, pushing his remaining magic into the wish.

#I love you, too, Mione# he trilled, weakly, before he succumbed to the illness.

_tbc..._

_Thank you for the few but kind comments for the previous chapter!_


	14. Chapter 14

**The Potions Master's Bane**  
**by Healer Pomfrey**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

**_Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, time travel, sick!Harry. I am only writing for fun and how I want it.  
_**

**_IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT, DON'T COMPLAIN BUT STAY AWAY FROM MY STORIES!_**

* * *

All of a sudden, Harry felt very cold. He found himself sitting on his bed, surrounded by a huge mountain of ice.

"Well done, Harry, I've got you," he heard Hermione's voice and felt himself being lifted and wrapped into her robes.

_'I'm a baby phoenix,'_ Harry realised, only able to get a glimpse at his tiny body, when Hermione pulled him out of the pile of ice.

HP

During the following three weeks, Harry remained in his baby phoenix form. Helga and Salazar placed a perch for him into their living room, where Fawkes raised his small friend. All the baby food, which the house-elves brought for the little phoenix, went through Fawkes' beak, before he fed it to the baby.

Whenever they had time besides classes, Hermione and Godric kept Harry company, since they were the only humans able to communicate with the tiny bird.

As soon as Harry felt a little more alert than he had been at first, not used to being a phoenix, let alone a baby phoenix, he noticed in surprise that he was able to feel Hermione's emotions. He knew when she was happy to see him grow small blue feathers, he felt when she was worried about the NEWTs, and he sensed her getting excited at the prospect of having Harry back in his human form soon. _'Maybe because I bonded to her to make her understand my phoenix talk,'_ Harry thought, hoping that she wouldn't be able to equally sense his moods.

When Helga finally allowed Godric to transfigure the phoenix back to his human form, Harry felt better than he could remember having felt before.

"I'm not one hundred percent certain," Helga said, when she let her wand sink, "but I believe that you efficiently managed to cure yourself from your muscle disease. Just try it out, but please be careful," she advised him, smiling fondly at the boy.

Harry glanced at Hermione. "Would you care to try it out and go for a small walk?" he asked in a soft voice, knowing from his girlfriend's emotions that she would agree in any case.

"Sure," Hermione replied, smiling, before she pulled him into a bear's hug. "I'm so happy to have you back. I was so worried."

Harry hesitantly accepted the hug, before he leaned over and captured her mouth with his lips, noticing in relief that she replied to the kiss. "Everything is fine, dear," he whispered, when they separated.

"Thank Merlin," Hermione whispered back, unobtrusively wiping a tear from her cheek.

"Mione, what date do we have?" Harry suddenly remembered to ask. "When are the NEWTs?"

Before Hermione could even reply, Harry already knew that he would not like her answer.

"The NEWTs took place two weeks ago, dear," Hermione informed him, giving him a sad look. "The teachers said that you can still take them at the end of the holidays, since it was not your fault that you were ill."

"Oh all right," Harry said, feeling slightly shocked at the revelation. "Should I take you to the future right away then?" he then asked, giving the girl a sharp look.

Hermione shook her head in determination. "No Harry, I'm going to stay here and study together with you. You missed almost two months of classes."

Suddenly, Harry stopped walking and glanced over the lake. "I can't believe it," he mumbled, feeling very happy. "We can just walk around the lake together. How cool is that?"

Hermione smiled. "Yes Harry, I'm so very happy that you're finally cured. It's just amazing," she replied, carefully sliding her own slender hand into Harry's.

"You know," she continued, colloquially, "you've almost managed all of the points from the chocolate frog card. You're only missing one." Seeing that Harry stared at her in confusion, she continued, "You received the Order of Merlin three times now, you managed to become a phoenix Animagus..."

"But I'm still not your fiancé," Harry added, smiling. He turned around to view his girlfriend and asked, "Maybe this is still a bit too early, considering that I haven't taken my NEWTs yet and I don't even have a proper ring for you yet, but will you become my wife?"

"Of course," Hermione replied, smiling broadly.

HP

During the remaining weeks of the holidays , Hermione spent much time studying together with Harry. At the same time, she helped Ceridwen and Gawain, who had already began to work at the Hogwarts Magical Research Centre, even if they were only going to take their NEWTs after another year.

One day, Harry travelled to Gringotts, where he possessed a vault containing the money from two Orders of Merlin first class, and instructed the goblins to write the vault over to the Hogwarts Magical Research Centre, represented by Ceridwen Hufflepuff.

"Harry, what have you done?" Ceridwen asked with a combination of disbelief and surprise, when the owl from Gringotts reached her at dinner time.

"Hmm? What did I do?" Harry returned the question, giving his friend an innocent look.

"Gringotts just informed me that you donated a vault with two million Galleons to the centre in my name," Ceridwen told him.

"Ah that," Harry replied, smiling. "Oh well, it's the money from the Order of Merlin, and I said from the beginning that we could use it to build up the centre. Remember, you need lots of books and other material over the time. Just see to it that the centre remains in good hands."

"We'll do that," Ceridwen replied, smiling, glancing at Gawain, who nodded encouragingly.

"By the way, Gawains' and my parents have approved for us to get engaged and marry after our NEWTs," Ceridwen informed them, seemingly happy.

"Congratulations dear," Hermione replied, smiling.

"That's really good news," Harry added. "Congratulations."

"Fortunately, in our time it's much easier, and we don't need anyone's approval," Hermione added, glancing at Harry.

"That's true," Harry confirmed, "and I was lucky that Hermione agreed to become my wife."

"Congratulations all of you," Rowena spoke up. "Don't you think that warrants for a double engagement party?"

'Mione,' Harry thought through the friendship ring, 'Do you think your parents would be willing to come here for an engagement party if we promise them to hold our wedding in the future?'

'Why not?' Hermione replied, smiling at him. 'Let's go and ask them, as soon as dinner is over, provided that you feel well enough to do so.'

'Of course,' Harry replied. 'Just don't tell anyone. We don't want them to make a fuss about it like they always do when I have to travel to the future.'

HP

_'I hope I'll still be able to hop into paintings,'_ Harry thought, when they returned to his room after dinner. _'I haven't tried since I was a baby phoenix.'_

However, to his relief, he still possessed his unique ability, and shortly after dinner, they travelled to the future, knowing that Ceridwen and Gawain had once again returned to the centre, so that no one was supposed to miss them for a while. Usually, Harry tried to be back just a few minutes after leaving, however, it was not always easy to time his travels exactly.

HP

Since Hermione insisted that Harry should accompany her to speak with her parents, the young couple travelled to the Grangers together. Hermione's parents, who had already met Harry multiple times, were not only happy to hear about their engagement, but also agreed to allow Harry to take them to the past for the party.

"We don't know when it's going to take place yet, but we can just fix a date, on which I come to take you there, and I can bring you back to the same day," Harry informed the Grangers and agreed with them to pick them up next Sunday morning at nine o'clock.

It was almost midnight when Harry and Hermione left, and they decided to travel back to the day after Christmas while going to Hogwarts, where they spent a few hours with Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey.

Just to confirm the news about Harry's cure, Madam Pomfrey waved her wand over him, only to smile broadly, as she informed him, "Yes, you're cured from the O'Leary disease. Congratulations, Harry."

Several hours later, during which the two witches asked many questions about their life in the past as well as the new centre, Harry and Hermione travelled back to the evening, from which they had come in the first place. Before they left, they promised that they were going to keep close contact to the founders and their friends and would be willing to take professors from the future to the past and bring the founders to the future at any time.

"That was a very long evening," Hermione mumbled, when they finally arrived back in Harry's room.

"Yes, it was. Good night my dear," Harry replied, sleepily returning Hermione's kiss, before he let himself sink into his bed without even taking his robes off.

_'I'm so happy,'_ he thought, as he already drifted off to sleep, before Hermione had even left the room.

HP

The following weeks passed very eventfully with Harry's birthday, their double engagement party, the NEWTs and finally the official opening of the Hogwarts Magical Research Centre, which took place on the last day of the holidays.

Fortunately, Harry received the results of his NEWTs in the morning of the thirty-first of August, so that he could really enjoy the opening ceremony. At the time of its opening, two wizards and one witch, who had just finished Hogwarts, were working at the centre together with Ceridwen and Gawain, and Ceridwen and Gawain had asked the founders to keep an eye on the students, so that they would be able to hire some more promising staff in the near future.

'How strange,' Harry thought to Hermione. 'We belong to the founders, although we don't even work here at this time. I just hope it'll still be such a wonderful place in the future.'

'We just have to make it a fantastic place,' Hermione replied, smiling. 'Remember, we can make people leave if they don't match our expectations, and we can hire new members. We can always ask Professor McGonagall to introduce brilliant students to us.'

'That's true,' Harry admitted, pensively.

'Perhaps we could even hire students for small research jobs or employ students over the summer holidays, for example, if they live with abusive families like the Dursleys,' Hermione suggested, causing Harry to nod in amazement.

'Hermione, you're the best,' he thought back, happily, before a sudden thought crossed his mind. 'Mione, are you going to live at your parents' place and take the floo to the centre and back, or will you stay in one of the apartments on the top floor?' he asked, feeling absolutely shocked that he had not thought about discussing the point earlier. _'I wished we could just live together in one of the apartments, but she won't agree, as long as we're not married,'_ he thought, inwardly sighing.

Hermione smiled. 'I thought we could still remain in our rooms here. Oh well, at least I was hoping that they'll still be available in the future, considering that there aren't any other heirs of the Hufflepuff - Slytherin family. Otherwise, we'd have to live in the head rooms of the centre, which should be reserved for us anyway,' she thought back, causing Harry to let out a relieved sigh.

_tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your kind comments!_


	15. Chapter 15

**The Potions Master's Bane**  
**by Healer Pomfrey**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

**_Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, time travel, sick!Harry. I am only writing for fun and how I want it.  
_**

**_IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT, DON'T COMPLAIN BUT STAY AWAY FROM MY STORIES!_**

* * *

Finally, Harry and Hermione made their way back to the future, promising to return to the founders' time during the next holidays. They travelled straight to Ceridwen's portrait in Harry's old room, making sure to arrive on the last day of the winter holidays of their supposed to be seventh year, just a week after they had spoken with Professor McGonagall about the centre.

They left the luggage in Harry's room, feeling very grateful towards the healer who still kept the room for them, before they made their way into the hospital wing to greet Pomfrey.

"You look determined," the healer told them, smiling. "Are you going to remain here now?"

"Yes," Hermione replied, returning the smile. "We intend to take over the Hogwarts Magical Research Centre from today onwards."

"Excuse me, Madame, do you think someone here could come with us and introduce us to the people in the centre, as we don't know anyone there?" Harry added, giving Pomfrey a pleading look.

"Of course dears," the healer agreed. "I suggest that Professor McGonagall accompanies you. Let me call her hear and ask her." She ushered the time-travellers into her office and asked her elf Misty for tea, before she leaned into the fireplace. "Everyone will be very happy to have you back," she then said, smiling.

HP

Professor McGonagall led Harry and Hermione to the Hogwarts Magical Research Centre, causing the young couple to stare at the building with a combination of pride and surprise.

"It still looks like we built it, but it seems to have been enlarged just a bit," Hermione blurted out, eagerly heading towards the entrance doors.

Harry and the professor exchanged an amused glance, before they slowly followed to meet the young witch at the doors.

"I'm going to take you to the current headmistress' office, which she will of course vacant right away," McGonagall informed them, causing Harry and Hermione to cast her questioning looks.

"Amelia Bones, the aunt of Susan Bones, has been the headmistress for a couple of years, however, she has known from the beginning that you were going to replace her from the beginning of this year onwards," the professor explained, before she knocked at a door.

HP

A mere instant later, the door was opened, and a witch, who was older than themselves but still much younger than the professor greeted them. "Minerva, and you must be Hermione and Harry. I've been looking forward to meeting you."

Harry and Hermione took the offered seats, feeling very uncomfortable with the situation.

"Personally, I believe that it's a good timing that you came back now, as Mrs. Bones promised to become my successor as Transfiguration professor," McGonagall spoke up.

"And you, Professor?" Hermione blurted out, clearly shocked.

McGonagall smiled. "As of today, I'm going to be the headmistress of Hogwarts, provided that it's all right with Harry, since Professor Dumbledore retired in favour of becoming the Minister of Magic. So far, he remained at Hogwarts, however, with you as the owner back in our time, he informed me that he accepted the position at the ministry."

"Excuse me, Professor," Hermione threw in, "even if Harry and I are the owners of the research centre, we don't have to be the headmaster or headmistress. I think Harry shares my opinion if I say that we'd appreciate it if Mrs. Bones would remain in this position. She seems to have been a good headmistress so far and has much more experience than either of us." She interrupted her tirade, giving Harry a questioning look.

"I fully agree," Harry said in a firm voice. "I for my part would prefer working as a Potions Master like I did in the past, rather than being the headmaster."

Amelia Bones stared at the young couple. "Are you sure?" she finally enquired and, although Hermione and Harry nodded, continued, "As much I'd love to accept your suggestion to remain on the position, I'm afraid that I already promised Professor McGonagall to become her successor as Transfiguration teacher." Turning to Harry, she added, "As to the Potions Master's position, it has been vacant for a long time, and I'm happy that you're going to fill it. I heard that you've already received the Order of Merlin first class twice for potions inventions."

"Oh well, I need to study a lot about potions in this time, before I'll be able to begin any research," Harry replied in a small voice.

"Hermione, please excuse my curiosity, but in which field have you or are you going to specialize?" Amelia Bones asked with apparent interest.

Hermione smiled. "I wasn't sure if I should specialise on healing in order to better work together with Harry or maybe Charms, as I didn't know in which area people would be needed in this time," she replied, glancing at Harry.

"One of my first actions as headmistress of Hogwarts," McGonagall was the first to react, "will be to set up the new elective subject of Ancient Magic from the next school year onwards, and I'd like one of you or both of you to teach the subject, as far as your time allows it. Perhaps until then you'll have become used to being the headmistress of the centre, so that you'll well manage to teach a few classes besides your other work," she added, gently, smiling at Hermione.

"Thank you very much, Professor. I'd love that," Hermione replied, gratefully.

"I'll still be here, just over the grounds, and if you have any questions, you can ask me at any time," Amelia Bones added and promised to vacate the headmistress' office by the evening.

"Maybe Amelia could remain Hermione's deputy headmistress, while I'd like to ask Harry to become my deputy headmaster, considering that he is the owner of Hogwarts as well," McGonagall suggested, causing Harry to cast her a horrified look.

"I believe that's a very good idea," Hermione spoke up. "That way you'll have to leave your potions lab at least for a few hours a day."

Harry grudgingly agreed, and they adjourned the meeting, deciding to hold a meeting with the same four members every Sunday evening after dinner in order to discuss common topics of the school and the research centre.

HP

During the rest of the morning, Professor McGonagall introduced Harry and Hermione to the centre's staff as the new owners, before she informed them that the staff of the centre, currently six witches and four wizards, were invited to take the meals together with the teachers in the Great Hall. So far, however, only Amelia Bones and one of the other witches, who were both residing in apartments on the top floor, had been attending the meals on a regular basis.

"We'll be there, Professor," Hermione promised, "especially since we're thinking of continuing to live in the Hufflepuff - Slytherin quarters, provided that they're still accessible in this time."

HP

Harry's and Hermione's rooms as well as the rest of the Hufflepuff - Slytherin quarters were - apart from slight modernisations - untouched, and the young couple happily continued residing in the rooms, which they had occupied in the past.

They got quickly used to living in the future again, even if they missed their friends and the founders and sometimes travelled to the past for just a few hours on Sundays. On the other hand, they were happy to be able to see Neville, Blaise and Draco and managed to hire all three of them for the research centre.

Harry intensely studied all potions recipes that he could find in modern books in the Hogwarts library as well as at Flourish &amp; Blotts. Although the Ministry of Magic had acknowledged not only their OWLs and NEWTs but also Harry's Potions Mastery, Harry wanted to be sure that he would possess the knowledge and expertise to pass a mastery exam in the future as well before beginning to do his own research.

Before he could even think about what potion he could develop, something happened that caused him to become very busy.

HP

It was six months after Harry and Hermione had returned to the future that the head healer of St. Mungo's contacted Hermione in her position as the headmistress of the research centre.

Hermione had met Healer O'Brian before, when he had been at Hogwarts to see Madam Pomfrey one day, however, she was very surprised when the healer visited her.

"We have an outbreak of the very rare thestral pertussis, which is unfortunately incurable," the healer informed her. "From Madam Pomfrey I heard that you have a Potions Master here, who might be able to develop a remedy as well as a vaccination for us, maybe in cooperation with Professor Snape from the Hogwarts school."

"Gina," Hermione called the house-elf, whom Professor McGonagall had assigned her, "please ask Harry to come to my office immediately."

While they were waiting for Harry, Hermione explained to Healer O'Brian, who was a very friendly older wizard, that Professor Snape had always hated Harry with a passion, so that it was very unlikely that the two Potions Masters would work together.

Harry fully agreed and promised to work on developing the requested potions as soon as possible. However, he realised soon that it was much more difficult to do potions research just by himself than it had been together with Salazar. Usually, when one of them had no clue as to how to proceed, the other developed an idea. He even toyed with the thought of involving Salazar in the research, however, dismissed the idea and spent as much time as he could in the lab working on the two potions.

Two weeks later, his tests with the rats were successful, and he was able to send the first potion to St. Mungo's, followed by the vaccination just after five more days. During the next two weeks, he spent most of his time brewing the cure as well as the vaccination, glad that the disease had so far not spread to Hogwarts, even if large parts of magical London seemed to be affected by it.

HP

"Thank Merlin," Hermione sighed, when Harry told her the good news. "Do you still remember that our wedding is going to take place in a week's time?"

"Really?" Harry blurted out in disbelief. "I think I should go and fetch Ceridwen, Gawain and the founders from the past. They'll surely want to attend our wedding," he voiced the thought that had just crossed his mind.

"I think that's a brilliant idea," Hermione agreed, "if you're not too tired. You really need some rest."

"We'll get some," Harry replied, grinning. "How about going for a week of honeymoon in the past?"

Hermione nodded in clear excitement. "Yes, Harry, that's great. Thank Merlin it doesn't matter that our wedding is on the last day of the holidays, and we can still be back on time after spending a week in the past," she replied, chuckling.

HP

Harry's and Hermione's wedding was a much larger affair than expected, since the whole student body saw fit to return to Hogwarts one day earlier than anticipated.

"Of course they want to attend your wedding," McGonagall said, chuckling, when the teachers stared over the grounds in disbelief, realising that hundreds of students were just walking up to the castle.

However, it was not only the visitors from the past, who caused huge attraction, as well as the students, who participated unexpectedly, but also the visit of the Minister of Magic, who came to attend the wedding and use the opportunity to award the groom the Order of Merlin first class for the fourth time.

"Harry Potter, please come over to me," Dumbledore called the groom, when the ceremony was over and everyone was just enjoying tea and cake on huge tables that the house-elves had arranged on the grounds.

Rolling his eyes at his new wife, Harry stepped through the crowd to greet the Minister, who was together with Professors McGonagall and Snape.

Casting a sonorus charm at himself, Dumbledore began to speak. "Harry Potter, I must say that I'm very proud of you. You have once received the Order of Merlin for vanquishing Voldemort, and now it's the third time that you receive the same award for saving many people's lives as a Potions Master. Well done, Harry!"

"Thank you, Minister," Harry replied in a small voice, noticing from the corner of his eyes that the other Potions Master, who was standing behind the Minister, did not look happy at all.

_'Oh well, I'm the Potions Master's bane,'_ Harry thought, inwardly chuckling, as he went to search for his wife.

**THE END**

_Thanks to the kind readers who supported my muse by reviewing throughout this story!_


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